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SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN TO COME UNTO ME 



ALTEMUS' YOUNG PEOPLE'S LIBRARY 



A CHILD'S 

Life of Chrij 




3&4~2W '&■<*• 



With 49 Illustrations 



PHILADELPHIA 

HENRY ALTEMUS 

1895 



^ 









IN 


UNIFORM BINDING 




PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED 


ROBINSON 


CRUSOE 


BUNYAN'S 


PIEGRIM'S PROGRESS 


A CHIED'S 


STORY OF THE BIBEE 


A CHILD'S 


EIFE OF CHRIST 


ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND 


THROUGH 


THE EOOKING-GEASS 



Copyrighted, 1895, by Henry Aetemus 



• 






HENRY ALTEMUS, MANUFACTURER 
PHILADELPHIA 



PREFACE 



TT is delightful to witness the deep interest 
which children take in the History of their 
Saviour ; they are early attracted and sweetly 
riveted by the wonderful Story of the Master 
from the Manger to the Throne. 

If God has implanted in the infant heart a 
desire to hear of Jesus, surely it behooves the 
friends of little children (whom Jesus delighted 
so to gather around Him) to bring together 
from Scripture every incident, expression and 
description, within the verge of their compre- 
hension, and to weave them into a memorial 
garland of their Saviour. 

(v) 



V J PREFACE 

Children will gaze with admiring love upon 
each wondrous act and word — from the pure 
snowdrop of innocence in the manger to the 
passion-flower of agony in the Garden of Geth- 
semane, and thence to the glorious Ascension 
of our Divine Saviour into Heaven. 

The command given by our Lord to those He 
sent forth was to " Preach and Teach." We, 
in this little book, humbly try to follow in their 
steps. We have introduced a profusion of 
illustrations, regarding them as being very 
important in a narrative of occurrences so 
distant from this modern life of ours, both in 
time and place. 



A CHILD'S 

Life of Christ 



CHAPTER I 

PALESTINE AT THE BIRTH OF OUR LORD — THE 
ANNUNCIATION TO MARY — THE SAVIOUR BORN 
IN BETHLEHEM — THE WISE MEN AND THE STAR. 

NEARLY nineteen hundred years ago there lived 
in the quiet town of Nazareth a pious Jewish 
maiden: her name was Mary. She was going 
to be married to a poor man named Joseph, who 
was a carpenter by trade. Though living thus in 
humble life, they were of the royal family of Judah, 
and were the descendants of King David. 

The Jews were very particular to keep exact lists 

(7) 



8 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

of the names of their families — genealogies, they 
called them — and these lists went back for many 
hundred years. 

Though Joseph and Mary belonged to the royal 
family of David, yet they lived in Nazareth of 
Galilee, far away from King David's city, Beth- 
lehem. 

The Roman Emperor Augustus had conquered 
Palestine and put a king of his own choosing on the 
throne of Judah. His name was Herod the Great — 
great indeed in nothing good — great only in wicked- 
ness. This Herod was king, under Augustus, and 
he was obliged to rule as the Emperor ordered. 

We now go back to Nazareth, and see Mary, who 
is sitting alone in her own house. A glorious 
visitor stands before her, and says, Peace be with 
you, Mary. Be glad, for the Lord is with you, and 
has blessed you more than any other woman. Mary 
saw that her bright visitor was an angel of God, 
and she felt troubled at his saying. What did it 
mean, why was he sent to her? she asked herself. 

Then the angel told her, not to fear; for he came 
to tell her that God would send her a baby — a won- 
derful baby. It would be no other than Jesus, the 
long-promised Saviour of the world. 

Oh, how long the world had waited for this Seed 
of the woman, which was to undo the mischief 
caused by Satan, according to the promise made 
thousands of years ago to Adam and Eve. And 
how often from that time had the prophets foretold 
his coming, how a maiden should have a son, who 
would be Christ the Lord ! 

Mary had heard all these wonderful and true say- 



I0 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

ings of God, and she was glad to find that, of all 
the women of Israel, she was the one chosen to be 
the mother of this child. 

But the old prophets said that this child was to be 
born at Bethlehem, whereas Mary lived at Nazareth. 
This old saying, however, came exactly true in a 
strange way. 

The Emperor Augustus, who was the master of 
the land of Palestine, said that he wanted a list 
of the names of every man and woman, their ages, 
their rank, and their trades, throughout the land. 
This list was called a census and was taken every 
ten years. 

Herod was to make out the list; and he said, to 
prevent mistakes, he must take the people according 
to the tribe to which they belonged. Every one 
was, therefore, obliged to go to the city to which 
his tribe or family belonged, however troublesome 
or however far it might be for some of them. They 
could not help it — the will of Augustus was law 
and had to be obeyed. 

Yes, into every city, into every town, into every 
village, there came a messenger to say, Every one 
must go to his right place, to have his name put 
down in the list for the Emperor. 

Now Joseph and Mary belonged to the family of 
David, of the tribe of Judah ; so they had to go to 
Bethlehem, for that was David's city, to have their 
names written down. 

It was about sixty miles from Nazareth to Bethle- 
hem, a very long journey in those days. 

How tired they are, and how glad to see the white 






I2 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

walls of the little city through the olive trees and 
vines which grew around it ! 

It is evening, and the city is full, for others, like 
them, have come from a distance to be registered. 
They go to the inn, but there is no place for them — 
where shall they sleep for the night ? 

The master of the inn pities them, for Mary looks 
so tired, and he says, They may rest in the stable 
for the night. How glad Joseph and Mary are even 
of that lowly place ! There is straw for them to lie 
upon, and a roof over their heads; but that is all. 
The oxen and asses are around them, and many are 
going and coming; but they are thankful, after their 
long and weary journey, to find any shelter in Beth- 
lehem. 

That night the old saying of Micah (v. 2) the 
prophet came true; for there, at Bethlehem, did God 
send to Mary the promised baby. Yes, that night 
was the most wonderful and most joyous in* the 
world's history; for then was born the Son of God. 

Mary took her baby, and dressed him in some long 
clothes, called swaddling clothes, and laid him in a 
manger. She had no soft cradle near; she dared not 
lay him on the ground, lest the beasts should tread 
on him, so she put him into one of the troughs from 
which the cattle ate their food. 

On the night that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, 
some shepherds were watching their flocks in the 
fields around the city. 

More than a thousand years before had David, 
when a lad, kept his father's sheep in the very same 
place. Now, these shepherds were guarding their 



I4 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

flocks from the wolves and foxes, which still lived 
in the hills and woods of Palestine. 

Most likely these shepherds were good men, who 
were waiting for the coming of the Saviour, like 
many other pious men of Israel. According to the 
writings of their prophets, they knew that the time 
of his birth must be near at hand. But now the 
time has come, only as yet, they knew it not. 

All at once, they see a strange bright light. It is 
night, so it is not the sun; nor is it the moon — nor 
the stars. Brighter than the brightest day is this 
light from Heaven. 

The glory of the Lord shines round about them. 
No wonder they are afraid. 

Then an angel spoke to them, and said in kindest 
tones, Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings 
of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto 
you is born, in the city of David, a Saviour, who 
is Christ the Lord. He is a new-born baby, lying 
in a manger at the inn of Bethlehem. Go, and you 
will find him. 

Now they saw in the sky a great number of 
angels, who filled the air with their praises; and the 
shepherds heard the words of the angels' cradle- 
song. It was tli is: 

Glory to God in the highest, 

On earth peace, and good-will to men. 

Having sung this song, the angels went back to 
Heaven: the light faded away, and all was dark as 
before. 

The shepherds now began talking together about 
these strange sights and sounds. And they said, 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST ^ 

Let us go the nearest way to Bethlehem, and see 
this thing which has come to pass. 

They did not say, Let us wait till morning, be- 
cause of our flocks; no, the event was so great they 
could not wait till then to see its truth. 

At once, with haste, they went to the inn of 
Bethlehem, into the court-yard, around which were 
the stables. There, even as the angels had said, and 
as they expected to find, was the babe lying in a 
manger, with Mary and Joseph by his side. 

Said they to Mary, This baby is the Saviour of 
the world, the long-promised Messiah ; we knew we 
should find him here, for God has sent his angels to- 
night to tell us of his birth. The whole air was 
filled with music from Heaven, and we heard the 
angels sing, 

Glory to God in the highest, 

On earth peace, and good-will to men. 

Mary, like all other mothers, kept these sayings 
about her baby like treasures in her heart. Often 
and often, in after years, did she think over all the 
strange things that had happened at the birth of 
this child. 

The shepherds could not stay any longer in Beth- 
lehem, for their flocks were alone; but they told 
many in the city what they had heard and seen. 
Every one that heard the good news wondered at the 
things which were told them by the shepherds. 
Many heard ; but all did not believe. As it was then, 
so it is now. 

To you is the Saviour sent; do you know it — and 
do you love him ? 



x 6 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

Many pious men in Israel were at this time look- 
ing for the birth of a great Prince, and this expecta- 
tion was shared in by many people in other parts of 
the world. 

In one of the countries east of Palestine, probably 
Arabia, there lived some Wise Men — magi, sages, or, 
perhaps, priests. As they lived near the borders of 
the old kingdom of Chaldea, no doubt they had heard 
of the prophecy of Daniel (vii. 14) in which he spoke 
of the coming, about this time, of Messiah the Prince, 
to whom should be given glory and a kingdom. 

Or they had most likely heard from the children of 
Moab, whose country was also near theirs, of the 
saying of Balaam (Numb. xxiv. 17, 19), "I shall see 
him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not nigh. 
There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre 
shall rise out of Israel. Out of Jacob shall come 
he that hath dominion." 

It was more than fourteen hundred years before 
that these words were spoken, and now that " Star" 
has arisen. 

These Hastern sages were one night looking at 
the sky, studying, as was their way, the movements 
of the stars. 

As they gazed into the quiet depths of the mid- 
night sky, they saw a new bright star. 

Is this the star of Jacob's Ruler? said they; surely 
it is the sign of that Great King's coming ! With 
feelings of awe and wonder they continued to gaze 
on. At last they said, We will go to Jerusalem, 
where the God of Israel has his temple; and perhaps 
there we shall hear that he has come. We will go 
and worship him, and will take some gifts for his 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



17 



acceptance; for no one in the East ever thinks of 
going to see a great person without taking a present 
with him. 

When they reached Jerusalem, they earnestly 
asked the people whom they met, Where is he that 
is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star 
in the East, and are come to worship him ! 

King Herod and the people of Jerusalem had not 
yet heard of his birth, and these inquiries of the 
Wise Men troubled them. 

Herod was afraid. The King of the Jews, did the 
Wise Men say? Perhaps he will one day take away 
my crown, and himself sit upon the ancient throne 
of David. Thus thought this wicked king. 

Herod became more and more frightened, for he 
must have heard something of the old prophecies, 
which people were expecting to be fulfilled. His 
own conscience must have troubled him, too, as the 
thought of many of his crimes arose in his mind. 
But he need not have feared this King of the Jews, 
for his kingdom was to be one over the hearts of 
men: it was "not of this world." 

Then Herod said, Call all the men together who 
are wise in the Hebrew Scriptures. 

Then the chief priests, and the scribes, who were 
the writers of the law, met together at Herod's 
command. 

Tell me where your writings say that Christ 
should be born, demanded he. 

They quickly answered, In Bethlehem of Judea, 
as they unrolled the parchment on which Micah's 
ancient prophecy was written. 

They showed him the words most plainly written. 



X 8 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

"But thou, Bethlehem-Ephratah, though thou be 
little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee 
shall he come forth unto me, that is to be Ruler in 
Israel." 

It is enough ! said Herod; and he sent for the 
Wise Men. 

He asked them when they had first seen the star, 
for he felt sure that it was the star of the King of 
Israel. Go, said he, to Bethlehem, for it is there, 
and not at Jerusalem, that the prophets say this 
child is to be born. When you have found him, as 
I feel sure you will, come back and tell me, that I 
also may go and worship him. 

Dark, wicked, cruel thoughts were even now 
coming into Herod's mind; he never meant to go to 
worship this infant King. 

These Eastern sages now turned from Jerusalem 
to go to Bethlehem, which was a few miles off. 
They felt quite sure now that they were walking in 
the right road, for lo ! they saw again the beautiful 
star that they had seen in their own land. Exceed- 
ing great was their joy; and the star never left 
them again till they came to the place where the 
young child was. 

They went to the house in which Joseph and 
Mary now lived, and there they saw the baby in the 
arms of his mother. 

Did they turn away and say, This poor infant 
cannot be a King; if he were, he would have come 
to a kingly dwelling, in the midst of the well-born 
and the noble ? 

No: had not the star guided them? With faith 
and reverence these Wise Men at once fell down and 



20 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

worshipped him; and when they had opened their 
treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and 
frankincense, and myrrh. 

That night God told them in a dream not to re- 
turn to Jerusalem to tell Herod what they had seen, 
but to go straight home some other way. 

Bring thou thy gifts to Jesus Christ, 

Not gold nor incense sweet ; 
But golden love and precious faith, 

As offerings most meet. 



CHAPTER II 

HEROD SLAYS THE YOUNG CHILDREN — THE FLIGHT 
INTO EGYPT — THE PREACHING OF JOHN THE 
BAPTIST — BAPTISM OF CHRIST. 

HEROD was waiting with great impatience for the 
return of the Wise Men to Jerusalem. He was 
continually asking his servants if they had 
heard or seen anything of them. At last, after waiting 
some time, he said, They must have gone home again 
by now; they have found the infant King, and they 
would not come to tell me about him; But I will 
have my revenge. In great anger he sent for some 
Roman soldiers, and said, Make haste, and go to 
Bethlehem. A young King has lately been born 
there, and I will have him killed at once. I do not 
know in which house this baby is; but to make sure 
of his death, you shall go into every house in the 
place, and kill every child under two years old. 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 2I 

Do you think that these soldiers said, Surely the 
King Herod will alter his mind when his passion is 
gone? No; they knew too well that he was old in 
cruelty, and that it was of no use for them to refuse 
to obey his orders. 

I will tell you one thing that Herod did, to show 
you how very merciless he was. He knew that he 
had been so cruel to the Jews, that they would rejoice 
to hear of his death. He said he would make them 
sorry when he died. So he gave a secret order that 
the best people of the Jewish nation should be put 
to death as soon as he was dead himself. Then, he 
said, all the Jewish nation will be weeping. I am 
glad to say, though, that the people whom he told 
to do this dreadful deed did not obey him after he 
was dead. 

Of course, if he had so hard a heart he would not 
care about killing a few babies to please his wicked 
passion. 

His soldiers enter Bethlehem. Why are these men 
come here ? the people ask. 

They had not long to wait for an answer. The 
soldiers went into one house after another, and 
snatched every baby from its mother's breast, and 
threw it down again a lifeless corpse. Every little 
child that was just able to walk about they caught 
up in their arms, and pierced it with their swords. 
In vain the mothers ran with their babies to the 
tops of their houses; in vain the fathers carried their 
little ones to the vineyards round; every garden was 
searched, every door was opened, and every child 
under two years old was killed. And from the city 
of Bethlehem there arose an exceeding bitter cry. 



22 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

Oh, what a cry it must have been! The cry of one 
mother mourning for her dead babe goes to the very' 
heart; but here were thousands of mothers wailing 
over children who have met with a sudden and 
bloody death. 

But I think I hear you ask, Did they find the baby 
Jesus, and kill him? 

No; God would not let them do that. He knew 
what the wicked king would do, so he took care that 
Jesus should be in a safe place far away. 

The night after the Wise Men had left, God sent 
an angel to Joseph, and said to him, Rise from your 
bed, and get ready for a journey to Egypt. Take 
Mary and the baby away directly, for Herod will 
seek for the infant to kill him. I will tell you 
when it will be time for you to return home. 

Joseph did not wait a moment. In the stillness 
of the night they went through the city gate, and 
were soon far away in the desert. 

Joseph and Mary and the baby did not long live 
in Egypt, for Herod died very soon afterwards. 
Then God sent an angel to Joseph, as he had 
promised him, to tell him that now he might go 
back again, because they were dead who sought the 
young child's life. 

But Joseph felt afraid to go and live at Bethlehem 
again, so he went back to his old home at Nazareth, 
in Galilee. 

The country round about Nazareth is very beauti- 
ful, but what interests us most is not the beauty of 
the country so much as the thought that here the 
boyhood of Jesus w 7 as spent. We wonder how that 
boyhood was passed; what he said, and felt, espe- 



24 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



cially about the world he had come to save. These 
questions cannot be answered. For twelve years 
the life of Jesus is wrapped in unbroken silence. 
We only know that he grew, and waxed strong in 
spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God 
was upon him. 

When Jesus was about twelve years old Joseph 
and Mary took him to Jerusalem to the feast of the 
Passover. This was a long journey from Nazareth, 
but it happened at a good season of the year, after 
the summer's heat and before the winter's rain be- 
gan to fall. When the feast was over, Joseph and 
Mary set out on their return journey, but Jesus 
tarried in Jerusalem, and Joseph and Mary were 
some distance from Jerusalem before Jesus was 
missed. Not finding him among their kinsfolk and 
friends, they returned to Jerusalem, and after three 
days they found him in the temple among the 
teachers of the law, both hearing and asking them 
questions. And when they saw him they were 
amazed, and his mother said, Son, why hast thou 
thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have 
sought thee sorrowing. Jesus answered, How is it 
that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be 
about my Father's business? He would have his 
mother know that implicit obedience to his Heavenly 
Father was the first rule of his life. Still, although 
the Son of God, he yielded to them the true obe- 
dience of a son, and returned with them to Nazareth, 
where, we doubt not, he labored with Joseph at the 
carpenter's bench for his own support and that of 
the family. 

For the next eighteen years there is silence re- 



2 6 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

specting the life of Jesus. We only know that he 
grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God 
and man. 

If you had been living in the land of Palestine, 
thirty years after the birth of Christ, you would 
have heard of a man called John the Baptist. 

He lived mostly among the wild places and desert 
parts of Judea, and by the river side of Jordan. 

He wore the coarsest clothing, and lived on the 
plainest food. Yet he was a greater prophet than 
all those who had come before him. He was ' 'a man 
sent from God" to prepare the Jews for the teaching 
of Jesus. 

In Eastern countries, when a great person is going 
a journey, some one is sent before him — a fore- 
runner — to see that the way is clear for him and his 
servants. The roads must be watered to lay the 
dust, the rough places must be made smooth, and 
all hindrances taken out of the way. 

Up to this time Jesus had been living quietly 
with his parents at Nazareth. Now the time had 
come for him to begin to teach and to preach to the 
people. 

Some time, however, before Jesus began his work, 
John told the Jews to get ready for the teaching of 
Jesus. Some one is coming who is greater than I 
am. He already stands among you, though you 
know him not. Put away, he cried, all that will 
hinder his coming to you. He is the Holy One of 
Israel, turn away from your sins. Repent ! the 
kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. 

These sayings of John roused the whole Jewish 
people. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all 



2 8 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, and 
were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their 
sins. Then eometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan 
unto John, to be baptized of him. But John for- 
bade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of 
thee, and comest thou to me ? And Jesus answer- 
ing, said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus 
it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then 
he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, 
went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the 
heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the 
Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting 
upon him: and, lo, a voice from Heaven, saying, This 
is my beloved Son. in whom I am well pleased. 

The Pharisees and Sadducees, too, came to John. 
They w 7 ere mostly proud men, who thought a great 
deal of themselves. 

John was surprised to see them come, and said, 
Who has told you to flee from the wrath to come ? 
You think you are safe because you are the children 
of faithful Abraham; but I tell you that each one 
of you must give up his sins, his pride, and all un- 
righteousness, or he can have no part in Messiah's 
kingdom; that kingdom is close at hand. Repent ! 
for he wall burn the chaff with unquenchable fire. 

These plain words of John made the Pharisees 
angry — they thought themselves so much better than 
others, that they had no need to repent. But no 
one can enter the kingdom of Jesus unless he turns 
away from his sins. 

I cannot tell you of all the people who came to 
John; but some there were who felt very sorry for 
their sins, and to them he spoke words of love and 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 2 g 

peace. He told them to look to Jesus as the L,amb 
of God who taketh away the sins of the world. 



CHAPTER III 

CHRIST'S TEMPTATION — THE CALLING OF THE DIS- 
CIPLES — JESUS BEGINS HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY — 
THE MIRACLE OF THE FISHES- — HIS FIRST MIRA- 
CLE AT CANA — DRIVES THE BUYERS AND SELLERS 
OUT OF THE TEMPLE — JESUS AND NICODEMUS. 

BEFORE Jesus began to teach, he went into a 
place all alone. He stayed in the wilderness 
for forty days. The quiet of the desert was 
only broken by the roar of wild beasts, as they went 
about at night seeking for their food. 

But Jesus was not afraid of them; he wanted to 
be all by himself, that he might pray to God, his 
Father, and think over the great work which he 
was so soon going to begin. 

God kept him alive without food for the forty 
days that he was speaking to him, and thinking so 
earnestly. At the end of that time, Jesus was 
hungry. I dare say he felt very weak and weary 
from his long fasting. Now, thought Satan, will 
be a good time for me to try to make him do wrong. 
So he came to Jesus and said, You are very hungry, 
and there is no food to be had in this desert, but 
that will not matter. If you really are the Son of 
God you can soon turn these stones that lie around 
you into bread, 



3 o A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

But Jesus said, No, I will not work a miracle 
only to please myself. I will trust to God to feed 
me ill any way that lie thinks fit. Man does not 
live by bread alone. 

You see it was like meat and drink to Jesus to do 
the will of his Father. 

Then Satan took Jesus to the temple at Jeru- 
salem, to the top of a very high tower. 

Now, said Satan, throw yourself down; you will 
not be hurt, for God your Father will take care of 
you. It is said in the Scriptures, The angels shall 
bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot 
against a stone. 

Jesus said, No, I will not do as you wish. It is 
written in the Scriptures, Thou shalt not tempt the 
Lord thy God. God only works miracles for wise 
ends, not for the sake of making a wonder. Jesus 
knew that he could not expect his Father to take 
care of him, if he went into danger on purpose. 
He could come down from the tower by the steps 
in the usual way; he need not throw himself from 
the top, in order to reach the ground. 

Satan now took Jesus to the top of a very high 
mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the 
world, and the glory of them. All these, said he, 
I will give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship 
me. You say you are to be King over all the earth; 
seek my help, and your kingdom shall be set up in 
the world, without any giving up of life and ease 
on your part. 

But Jesus said, Get thee hence, Satan, for it is 
written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and 
him only shalt thou serve. My kingdom is not one 



3 2 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

of show and splendor ; it is one in the hearts of 
men. 

Then Satan went away. The holy Jesus would 
not yield to him when he tried to lead him into 
sin. 

Adam and Eve listened to the Evil One, they 
believed his lies, and disobeyed God; but Christ, 
who is called the Second Adam, was tempted, and 
did not fall. 

Satan comes to us all with just the temptation 
that he thinks we shall listen to. To one he says, 
I would not bear that cross word ; give a hard word 
back again; and he tempts to revenge. 

To another he whispers, Hide up that fault; your 
mother will never know; and he tempts to deceit. 

Or he may say, How diligent you are, when your 
companions are careless and idle; and he tempts to 
pride. 

Oh, he has many ways of coming to us, but let 
us say, as Jesus didj Go away, Satan, I will not 
listen to your wicked teachings. 

Jesus knows how hard it is to do right, when the 
devil tempts us to do wrong. One reason why he 
let the devil come to him was, that he might know 
how hard it was to say " No n to him. 

When the devil comes to tempt us, Jesus is by us, 
too, watching to see if we mind his words, and 
ready to help us to do right if we only ask him. 

God sent help to Jesus as soon as Satan had gone 
away. We are told that angels came and brought 
him the food he so much needed. How glad they 
always were to do the least thing that he wanted. 

You will often read in the New Testament of the 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 33 

twelve disciples of Jesus. Do you know what the 
word disciple means ? It means a learner. These 
twelve men were learners of Christ. All who 
learned of him were his disciples; but these twelve 
were with him always, and learned of him the most. 
They are called apostles, too, because Jesus sent them 
out into different parts of the country to teach 
others. The word apostle means "one who is sent." 

The disciples were also the friends of Christ. He 
told them things about God and about himself that 
he did not tell people generally. They loved Jesus 
dearly, and he loved them, too, and took great pains 
to correct their mistakes, and to make them good. 

Peter, James, and John are the three that we read 
most about. John was the disciple that was the 
most like . his Master in spirit, and he was called 
"the disciple that Jesus loved." 

One day John the Baptist was teaching his dis- 
ciples or learners, when Jesus passed by. He was 
just talking to them about Jesus, and as he saw him 
looking so calm, so gentle, so meek, he said, Behold 
the Lamb of God ! Two of John's disciples heard 
his words, and as they looked at Jesus, they felt 
the words were true; so they turned at once, and 
followed him. 

It was about four o'clock in the afternoon when 
they went after Jesus. They did not speak to him, 
lest they should disturb him. Jesus knew that in 
their hearts they wanted to speak to him, so he 
turned round and said to them kindly, What is it 
you wish for? 

They said, very timidly, Will you tell us where 
you live? 



34 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

Jesus said, Come with me, and I will show you 
where I live. 

Then they were very glad; this was just what 
they wanted, only they did not like to ask. 

Jesus is the Greatest Teacher that has ever lived 
in this world, and yet he did not make himself very 
grand. No; it was always easy for any one who 
really wanted to be his disciple, to see him and to 
talk with him. 

The names of these two young men were — John, 
who was afterwards called the beloved disciple; and- 
Andrew. They spent all that evening with Jesus, 
and the more they saw of him the more they loved 
him: they felt quite sure now that he was the Son 
of God. They went and told some other young 
men what they knew about Jesus. Andrew went 
first of all to his own brother, Simon Peter, and 
said, We have found Christ. He brought him to 
Jesns, and Peter became one of Christ's disciples. 

These young men lived by the sea of Galilee, for 
they were fishermen. 

One day, as Jesus was walking by the seashore, 
he saw two ships — one of them belonged to Peter. 
There were a great many people crowding round 
Jesus to hear him talk, so he said to Peter, Let me 
get into your empty ship, and push it away from 
the land a little way; then I shall be able to speak 
to the people, so that all can hear me. 

Then Jesus taught the people out of the ship. 
When he had quite finished teaching, he said to 
Peter, Push your ship out now into deep water, and 
throw your nets down into the sea. 

Peter said, Master, we have been trying all night 



36 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

to catch fish and we have caught nothing, but as 
thou sayest, Throw in the net, I will do so. 

Peter threw in the net, and at once it was full 
of fishes — so full that the net broke with their 
weight. 

Then Peter called his partners, who were in the 
other ship, to come and help him. So James and 
John went to the ship and helped to pull up the 
net; and they filled both their ships with the fishes. 
When Peter saw their number he was astonished 
and frightened. He felt that Jesus was more than 
man to work such a miracle. He felt that he was 
a sinful man and not worthy to be so near to him, 
so he begged Jesus to go away from him. 

Jesus told him not to be afraid because he had 
seen this wonderful draught of fishes. Have faith 
in me, and you will see me do yet more wonders, 
and I will teach you to bring men to know me 
too. 

Peter and his partners, James and John, then 
brought their ships to land, and left them in care 
of some hired men, while they followed Jesus wher- 
ever he went. 

They left all that they had, to go with him: there 
was nothing in the world that they cared for so 
much as to learn of him, and listen to his sayings. 

I have now told you about John and James, who 
were brothers, and Simon Peter and Andrew, who 
were brothers. 

There was one young man who lived in the same 
place with Andrew and Peter; his name was Philip. 

Jesus said to him, Follow me. 

At once he came; he knew that Jesus was the 




THE MIRACULOUS DRAUGHT OF FISHES. 



37 



38 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

Messiah for whom the Jews had so long been 
hoping. 

Then there was Matthew, a tax-gatherer, who had 
often heard Jesus speak. One day Jesus said to 
him, Follow me. 

He was very glad to hear Jesus ask him to come 
and be with him wherever he went; so he gave up 
all at Christ's bidding, and followed him. 

At other times Jesus chose the rest of the twelve 
apostles. I have already told you of six, — James 
and John, Andrew and Peter, Philip and Matthew. 
Beside these there were Thomas, Bartholomew 
(who was the same as Nathanael), another James, 
Simon (called Zelotes), Judas or Jude, who wrote 
one of the epistles or letters in the Bible, and Judas 
Iscariot, who betrayed Christ. 

We next find our Lord at Cana of Galilee where 
a marriage was being celebrated. Mary, the mother 
of Jesus, was there, and he and his disciples were in- 
vited. The bride and bridegroom were poor people, 
and in the midst of the feast it turned out that 
there was not wine enough. Mary said, in a low 
voice, to her Son, They have no wine. 

Now there were six great jars standing by, and 
Jesus told the servants to fill them with water. So 
they filled them up to the brim; and then he told 
the servants to draw out some of what they had 
poured in, and carry it to the chief person there. 

As soon as this man had tasted it, he found it was 
such good wine that he said to the bridegroom that 
most people began their feasts with their best wine, 
but that here the best had been kept for the last. 
This was the first wonderful thing our Lord did on 




CHANGING THE WATER INTO WINE 



39 



4Q A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

earth, and it made his disciples know that he was 
God, for no one else eonld have done such a wonder. 
We call these wonders miracles. Our Lord worked 
many more while he was on earth, and most of 
them were cures to the blind, or the lame, or the 
sick. He made them well directly by his power 
and love. 

After this Jesus went with his mother and dis- 
ciples to Capernaum, a city on the Sea of Galilee, 
and there they remained a few days until the time 
for going up to Jerusalem to keep the feast of the 
Passover. 

This was Jesus' first visit to Jerusalem since his 
baptism. On going into the temple he found three 
men selling oxen, sheep and doves; also the 
changers of money. And when he had made a 
scourge of small cords, he drove them out of the 
temple with it, saying, Take these things hence: 
make not my Father's house an house of mer- 
chandise. 

And when the Jews asked hi'm for a sign that he 
had a right to do this, he replied, Destroy this 
temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then 
said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple 
in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 
Jesus spake of the temple of his body, but they did 
not understand. Neither did his disciples at that 
time, but after the resurrection they remembered 
his words. 

During the Passover week Jesus wrought many 
miracles, and many believed on him because of the 
miracles, but their faith was weak. 

The Pharisees, as I told you before, were a party 



42 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



among the Jews, who were mostly rich and learned 
men. They were also very proud, and thought 
themselves much better than other people. Their 
outward conduct was very strict, but in general 
their hearts were full of self-glorying and unkind 
thoughts of others. 

They thought that when Messiah came he would 
be a king, just like other kings on earth; and that 
he would be sure to give them the chief places in 
his kingdom, and make much of them. 

Now Messiah has come. He is Jesus of Nazareth. 
He has gone from the Sea of Galilee, where he called 
some of his disciples; and he is working miracles, 
and is teaching in Jerusalem. The Pharisees look 
on, but they say, This new teacher is only the son 
of a carpenter. He cannot be the Christ. 

They turn away, and talk among themselves, and 
say, This man from Nazareth teaches strange things. 
He says God is his Father. And then see how he 
cures all manner of diseases. If he were but rich, 
we might think he was the King of Israel; but that 
cannot be. His disciples are only poor fishermen: 
we do not know that any rich men will believe in 
him. 

But there was one among them, named Nico- 
demus, who, when he reached his home that day, 
thought over all that he had seen and heard of Jesus. 

He thought to himself, I cannot understand this 
new teacher: I should like to talk to him all alone. 
I will go and see him, but I will wait till it is dark, 
for I should not like any to know that I went to 
learn of him. 

So, when all was still in the streets of Jerusalem. 



44 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

Nicodemus quietly left his home, and went to the 
house where Jesus was staying. 

He knocked at the door, and asked for Jesus. 
Jesus did not say, I am tired with teaching all day; 
you must go away, and let me rest now. Besides, 
if you are ashamed to be seen talking to me, I will 
have nothing to say to you. No; Jesus was always 
courteous, and always ready for his great work: he at 
once listened to what Nicodemus had to say. 

Master, he said, I know you must be sent from 
God to teach men, for no one could do the wonders 
that you do if God did not give him the power. 

I am from God, said Jesus; I have come to set up 
his kingdom on earth, but not the kind of kingdom 
that you expect — not one that you can see, nor one 
of earthly grandeur. Do not think that because you 
are a Jew and a Pharisee, you will have a share in 
my kingdom. I tell you truly, that unless you are 
born again you can have no part in it. 

Born again ! cried Nicodemus: what does that 
mean ? 

Yes, said Jesus; I speak the truth. God's Spirit 
must change a man's heart before he will be able to 
enter that kingdom. A man naturally loves to 
please himself; but, in the new life that God gives, 
he will be quite changed, for he will seek to please 
God, and care for that which he thinks much of. 
He is like another man, after he listens to and 
obeys God's Spirit. 

Nicodemus looked very much astonished. 

Jesus said, Do not wonder, Nicodemus, at my 
saying, You must be born again. I know that it is 
difficult to explain all about a man's soul. But 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



45 



look at the wind, it blows where it pleases; you 
cannot tell where it comes from, nor where it goes. 
You can see what it does, but you cannot see it. So 
you can see what God's Spirit does. When you see 
the proud grow humble, the angry grow meek, the 
selfish grow loving — then you see the work of God's 
Spirit. You can see the same man changed into a 
new man, as if he were indeed born again. 

Again Nicodemus asked, How can it be ? He did 
not like to think that his birth as a Jew went for 
nothing, nor that if he was to be a sharer in the 
kingdom of heaven, his heart must be entirely 
changed. 

Jesus said, Are you a teacher in Israel, and do 
you not understand, that God's kingdom is in the 
hearts of men? God's way of saving men is not as 
you think. You think that the Messiah will come 
and reign over the Jews with greater splendor than 
Solomon of old; but I tell you that the Messiah 
will have to suffer and die, »and that it will be 
through his death that the whole world, and not the 
Jews only, will be saved. 

You may not understand this yet, but by and by 
you will see more plainly God's great love to the 
world in sending his son to die for it. 

Nicodemus then left Jesus. We may be quite sure 
that he never forgot the conversation of that night, 
and that he thought of it three years afterwards, 
when he saw Jesus lifted up on the cross, dying to 
give life to the world. 

I dare say he often came to Jesus to speak with 
him, after this first visit, and that he learned to love 
him very much. When Jesus was dead, he brought 



46 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

costly spices to embalm his body; a mixture of 
myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. 
What a change from the Nicodemus, who at the first 
came to Jesus by night. 

Children ! do not say, I am sure to go to heaven, 
because I am born in a Christian land, of pious 
parents. Unless your hearts are made new by God's 
Spirit, you cannot enter there. You must be born 
again. God waits to give you his Spirit. He says, 
Ask and ye shall have. Will you not pray, O Lord, 
for Jesus' sake, give me thy Holy Spirit ? 



CHAPTER IV 

THE SAMARITAN WOMAN— JESUS HEALS THE 
NOBLEMAN'S SON — TEACHES IN THE SYNAGOGUE 
AT NAZARETH — STILLING THE TEMPEST — AN 
UNCLEAN SPIRIT CAST OUT. 

THE Pharisees in Jerusalem were very angry with 
Jesus because many people, seeing the won- 
ders that he did, believed on him. They 
would uot love him themselves, because he reproved 
their pride, and did not teach the things that they 
did. Jesus, seeing their dislike to him, said to his 
disciples, We will go back to Galilee, and leave 
Jerusalem for a little time. 

It would take three days to go from Jerusalem to 
Galilee, straight through the country of Samaria; 
and this was the road that Jesus now took. 

When they came near a city of Samaria, called 



48 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

Sychar or Shechem, Jesus sat down by the well 
outside the city. 

He was very tired, and hot and thirsty, so he 
rested there while his disciples went into the city to 
buy some food. 

It was about twelve o'clock at noon when a 
woman came to the well to draw some water, and* 
saw Jesus sitting there alone. 

He asked her for some w 7 ater; she gave it, but 
said, How is it that you ask me to give you water, 
for you are a Jew, and I am a woman of Samaria ? 
The proud Jews are not willing to take anything 
from the despised Samaritans. 

Jesus said, You do not know who I am. I have 
taken some water from you, but if you knew me, 
you would ask me to give you some ever-springing, 
living water. 

Sir, said she, how do you get this water? You 
have no pitcher with you to draw it up, and the 
well is deep. 

Jesus said, I am not speaking of the water at the 
bottom of this well, for those who drink of this 
water will thirst again. But he that drinks of the 
water that I will give shall never thirst, for it shall 
be in him a well of water springing up into ever- 
lasting life. 

The woman was glad to hear of water ever fresh, 
ever springing up, which she could always carry 
with her. There would be no need then for weary, 
hot, dusty walks from the city to the well. Not to 
thirst again ! What a delightful thought in that 
hot country ! 

She did not quite understand yet that it was not 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 49 

real water that Jesus was speaking about. It was 
life in the soul he meant. 

When you are very hot and thirsty, do you not 
long for pure, cool water? And when you have 
drunk as much as you want, do you not feel re- 
freshed and strong ? 

And have you not sometimes felt very tired of 
naughty ways, and longed to be good, as you long 
for water when you are thirsty ? 

As water satisfies the thirst of the body, so will 
Jesus satisfy the thirst of your soul for goodness. 

I cannot altogether explain how, for you must 
learn this of yourself; the well of living water is in 
you, Jesus says. 

Go to him, and ask him to take away sin, which 
is like death to the soul, and he will give you life, 
and strength to be good. 

Jesus then went on talking to the woman about 
her past life. 

She said, Sir, you must be a prophet to know 
so much about me, "for you have never seen me 
before. 

Jesus told her he was more than a prophet, he 
was the Messiah — the Christ promised to the world 
so long ago. 

The woman then left her pitcher, and ran back 
to the city to tell her neighbors that she had found 
the promised Christ. 

While she was gone, the disciples, who had by 
this time come back from Sychar with the food they 
had bought, said, Master, why do you not eat? 

They had left Jesus hungry and tired, and now 
he did not seem to notice the food they offered him. 



5 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

They thought that perhaps some one had given him 
something to eat. 

He then explained to them that lie had been so 
busy that he had forgotten his hunger. It was 
meat and drink to him to do his heavenly Father's 
will. 

The woman came back again with many more 
people, and they asked Jesus if he would stay in 
their city a little while. Jesus stopped two days, 
teaching them and answering their questions; and 
the people said to the woman, Now we believe, not 
because of what you have said, for we have heard 
him ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the 
Christ, the Saviour of the world. 

After two days, Jesus and his disciples left 
Sychar, and continued their journey to Galilee. 

There was great sorrow in the house of a noble- 
man at Capernaum, for one of his children was very 
ill. In vain did the doctors come, for no medicine 
would cure him; and the parents, in deep grief, 
watched the progress of the fever. 

At last some one said, Jesus of Nazareth has 
returned from Jerusalem; he is now at Cana, per- 
haps he will make the child well. 

Cana was not far from Capernaum, so the noble- 
man said, I will go at once to Jesus, and see^if he 
will come here to heal my son. 

He soon found Jesus, for his fame was very great; 
and he begged him very earnestly to go back with 
him at once to Capernaum before the child was dead. 

He believed that when Jesus saw him, he could 
cure him, but he thought if the child was dead, 
then even he could do nothing. 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



51 



Jesus now showed the nobleman that he had 
more power than he thought — God had put into the 
hands of his Son power to do any miracle. 

Jesus could make the child well again, if he 
stayed at Cana, just as easily as if he went to Caper- 
naum and saw him. 

He said to the poor troubled father, Go home 
again, your son is cured. 

The nobleman believed that Jesus had cured his 
son, when he spake these words; so he turned to go 
home again. 

As he was turning, he met some of his servants, 
who were bringing him the good news that his son 
was better. 

When did he begin to get well ? the father asked. 

They replied, Yesterday, at the seventh hour, the 
fever left him. 

The father knew that that was the exact time 
when Jesus had told him his son should live. Now 
he knew that Jesus could do anything. He and all 
his family, when they saw the kindness and power 
of Jesus in sending health to this sick child, knew 
that he must be the Son of God. 

The fame of Jesus now grew exceedingly. They 
who had sick friends brought them to Jesus, and he 
healed them all. No disease was too bad, no one 
had been ill too long, for Jesus to cure. 

You would have thought that all men would have 
loved him; but they did not. 

About this time Jesus went to Nazareth, where he 
had spent his childhood and youth 

The people there had heard of his miracles, and 
all eyes were turned on him one Sabbath day, when 



5 2 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

he entered the synagogue, or Jewish place of wor- 
ship. 

He took the roll of parchment on which the 
prophecies were written, which they handed to him 
to read aloud to them. He unrolled the scroll, and 
read from Isaiah lxi. i. It was where the prophet 
was telling how in time to come, God would send 
Messiah to preach good news to the poor, to heal 
the broken-hearted, to set the captives free, to give 
sight to the blind. After Jesus had read these 
words, he closed the scroll and sat down. Every 
one looked up in astonishment and in silence. 

Jesus then said, / am the Messiah of whom the 
prophet speaks. I am come for the very purpose to 
set men free from the power of Satan and from habits 
of sin. I am come to bring light to the minds 
of men, by teaching them about God. I am come 
to speak words of pardon and comfort to those who 
are sorry for their sin. 

At first, all who heard Jesus speak wondered very 
much that a man whom they had known from a 
little child should say that he came to do these 
great things. 

They said, Is he not the son of Joseph ? we can- 
not believe him. 

They said Jesus was a false teacher, and they did 
not want these gifts. They did not feel their sins a 
burden, they did not think themselves ignorant of 
God. 

If he had said, I am come to make the Jews a 
great nation; I am come to give you riches; lam 
come to give you fame; I am come to give you the 
good things of this life; they would have listened. 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 53 

They did not want to be saved from sin, so they 
refused the Saviour, and they would have killed 
him at once, had not he hid himself from them. 

He was willing to die, but the right time was not 
yet come. He had more wonders to do, more peo- 
ple to cure, and many more to teach, before he laid 
down his life for the sins of the world. 

Jesus had no home of his own while he lived on 
earth. One day a man came to him, and said that 
he would go with Jesus wherever he went. 

Jesus said, I have no home for you to come to. 
The foxes have their holes to live in, the birds are 
warm in their little nests, but I have no place to 
call my own where I can lay my head. 

Was it not wonderful love of Jesus, to leave his 
bright home in heaven to come and live on earth 
without a place of rest ? 

About this time he most likely lived in Peter's 
house at Capernaum, by the lake of Gennesaret. 

He would often go into the ships of his disciples 
while they caught their fish, and he would some- 
times teach the people on the shore while he sat in 
a ship close by. 

One evening Jesus said that he should like to 
cross over to the other side of the lake. Then he 
and his disciples, and a few more men, went into a 
ship. 

All at once a strong wind began to blow, and the 
water became very rough. 

Now the waves get stronger and stronger, and rise 
higher and higher, till they dash over the little ship. 
The wind roars, and a black tempest darkens the 
sky. 



^4 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

Though the men on board were used to the sea, 
they could not manage the vessel in this terrible 
storm. The waves begin to fill the ship with water, 
and in great alarm the disciples went to Jesus. 
Where was he all this time ? He was fast asleep. 
He was very tired, for he had been teaching a great 
many people all day long; and as soon as he got 
into the ship he went to the farther end of it, and 
laid his head upon a pillow, and the movement of 
the vessel soon rocked him to sleep. 

The noise of the wind and the waves had not 
awaked him, but he awoke at once when he heard 
the voice of his disciples asking his help. 

Master, Master, they cried, we perish ! Do you 
not care for us? O Lord, save us ! 

He arose at once, and said to the wind, Be still; 
and then he turned to the waves, and said, Be still. 

And the noisy wind heard that calm voice above 
all its roar, and was hushed to stillness; and the 
raging waves listened to the commands of their Lord 
and Master, and became smooth and quiet. 

The angry storm, at one word from Jesus, changed 
to a great calm. 

The men in the ship feared exceedingly. Who 
could he be who could make even the wind and the 
sea obey his voice? They might well say, that 
" God alone could do that." Jesus is God as well 
as man, and that is why all things in nature owned 
his power. 

When Jesus had quieted the fears of his disciples, 
he gently reproved them for their want of faith in 
him. 

Why were you afraid, O, ye of little faith? he 



., r -^.; ^g^gqgj 




STILLING THE TEMPEST 



55 



5 6 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

said. You should have believed that I would have 
taken care of you. I knew that you were tossed 
about, though I was asleep. 

It is. not only raging seas that Jesus calms; he 
can still the angry passions of men, too. 

Have you never felt something like a storm 
within you, when conscience begged you not to 
yield to the power of evil habits — when a sudden 
wish to do wrong was met by the thought, " How 
can I thus sin?" In that hour of strife between 
good and evil, turn to Jesus and ask his help. He 
will send a calm, for the evil will flee at his presence, 
and leave you strong for good. 

You will often read in the New Testament about 
Jesus curing people who were possessed with devils. 
We can hardly tell you what this sad disease was 
that Jesus cured. It seemed to be a kind of mad- 
ness, in which people lost their senses, and fancied 
that an evil spirit lived within them, making them 
do dreadful things. 

A poor man who was thus afflicted lived at the 
little town at which Jesus landed after he had stilled 
the tempest. This poor man lived among the 
dreary gravestones and old tombs of the wilderness. 
He was very fierce, and men were afraid to pass by 
the place where he was. It was no use to chain 
him, for he broke his chains to pieces, and got loose 
again. There he was all day and all night, in 
lonely places, crying out and cutting himself with 
stones. 

Hearing the noise of the landing of the vessel, he 
turned and saw Jesus and his disciples come out of 
the ship. 



5 8 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

He ran to meet Jesus, and fell down at his feet, 
and cried very loud. 

Jesus told the evil spirits to come out of the man. 

The evil spirits said, What have we to do with 
thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Art thou come to 
punish us before the judgment-day ? 

Jesus now spoke to the man, and said, What is 
your name ? 

The devils would not let the man speak; they 
answered their name was Legion, which means 
many. They said to Jesus, Do not make us leave 
the man, but if you do cast us out, let us go into 
the swine that are feeding on the hills. 

Jesus now spoke to the evil spirits, and told them 
they might go. 

Then the devils went out of the man and entered 
into the swine, and the herd ran down the moun- 
tain-side into the sea, and were drowned. 

The man was now quite cured, and could listen 
to Jesus. He was in his right mind. He felt so 
loving and grateful to Jesus for making him well, 
that he wished to follow him everywhere. 

Jesus said, No, go to your home, and tell all your 
friends what great things God hath done for you. 

The people who saw this wonderful cure were 
afraid of Jesus, and begged him to go away. Did 
they suppose the gentle Jesus ever harmed any one? 
His power was always used for mercy; it was only 
used against disease, and sin, and evil. 

At another time a poor man was brought to Jesus, 
who was troubled with an evil spirit that made him 
deaf and dumb. 

Jesus told the devil to leave the man, and he did so. 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 59 

When he was gone, the poor man could both hear 
and speak. 

All who saw the cure, wondered, and said, This 
Jesus must be the Son of God. 

The Pharisees did not like to hear Jesus praised, 
for they hated him, and were wicked enough to say 
that his great power was given to him by Satan. 
u It is by the help of the Evil One that he casts out 
devils." 

, Jesus told them that Satan would not cast out 
Satan, that evil would not fight against evil. Evil 
could not do good, and good could only come from 
God. 

If, he said, it is thus God's power that cures these 
poor people, then is God very near to you, and I ' 
warn you to believe my teachings. But the Phari- 
sees only hated Jesus the more, because they knew 
he spoke the truth. 



CHAPTER V 

THE RAISING OF JAIRUS' DAUGHTER — THE HEAL- 
ING OF THE WOMAN WHO TOUCHED THE HEM 
OF JESUS' GARMENT — THE WIDOW'S SON — OTHER 
MIRACLES OF HEALING — A WOMAN WASHES 
JESUS' FEET WITH HER TEARS. 

JESUS crossed the lake again and came to Caper- 
naum. A large crowd of people were waiting 
for him. They asked him a great many ques- 
tions. 



60 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

The Pharisees were always trying to find fault 
with what Jesus did. They said to his disciples, 
How is it that your Master goes to the houses of 
wicked people, and eats and drinks with them ? 
He keeps bad company. 

Jesus heard them speaking to his disciples, so he 
turned to them and said, You do not send a doctor 
to a man who is quite well, but you send him to a 
sick man. So I go to those whose souls are sick, 
that I may cure them ; I go to sinners, to make them 
good. You proud Pharisees say that you are right- 
eous, so you feel no need of me; if you felt your 
need of a Saviour, I would come to you too. 

The Pharisees were as bad in their hearts as those 
who were plainly sinners, but they were like a man 
who is ill, and does not know it, and will not own 
it, and so will not send for a doctor. 

The soul of every one, even of a child, is sick be- 
cause it is sinful; will you not ask Jesus to cure 
yours and make it well, by making you good ? 

While Jesus was busy talking to different people, 
a man named Jairus came to him, and kneeled at 
his feet, and begged him very earnestly to come to 
his house directly. 

He said, I have only one little daughter; she is 
twelve years old, and she is dying. Come, I pray 
you, at once, and put your hand on her, and make 
her well again. 

Jesus then rose up to go with the sorrowing 
father. His disciples went with him, and a great 
crowd of people besides. 

After they had walked on a short distance, Jesus 
turned round and said, Who touched my clothes ? 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 6l 

Those nearest to Jesus all said that they had not 
touched him. 

Then Peter said, Master, how is it you ask who 
touched you ? The crowd is so great, that it is no 
wonder if some one has pressed against you. 

Yes, said Jesus; but somebody has touched my 
clothes on purpose to be healed by touching them. 
Who is it ? 

Then there came from among the crowd a poor 
woman, and she fell down at the feet of Jesus, and 
said, It was I, Lord. 

She said, I have been very ill for twelve years, 
and I have gone from one doctor to another to be 
cured, but all in vain. I have suffered a great deal 
of pain, and I get worse rather than better, and I 
have spent all my money. I heard of you, Lord, 
and how you cured all manner of diseases; so I 
thought if I could but touch the hem of your gar- 
ment I should be made well at once. It has been, 
too, exactly as I hoped, for the moment I touched 
you I felt quite well. 

The poor woman trembled very much all the 
while she was speaking to Jesus, for she was afraid 
that he would think that she had been too bold. 

But Jesus spoke to her very kindly, and told her 
that he was very much pleased with her faith in 
him. ' Daughter, he said, be of good comfort, thy 
faith hath made thee whole: go home in peace. 

Just then some one came with a message from the 
house of Jairus, and said to him, Your daughter is 
dead, do not trouble the Master any further, for 
nothing can be done for her now. 

Jesus told the poor father not to be cast down at 



6 2 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

the sad news: Be not afraid, only believe in my 
power, and she shall be made well again. 

At the door of the house the mother meets them, 
and a crowd of curious persons seek to enter the 
house with Jesus and his disciples. But Jesus will 
not let any one come in but Peter, James, and John. 
They then, with the father and mother of the little 
girl, go into the room where she lies dead. Already 
a great many people were in the room who were 
paid, as was then the custom, to play sad music, 
and sing sad songs, and make a great crying over 
the dead body. 

Jesus said to them, Do not weep; the child is not 
dead, she is only sleeping. 

Jesus meant that her death would be as a sleep to 
her, for he could raise her out of it. 

These people did not wait to see what Jesus would 
do, but laughed at him rudely, and said, She is 
dead; you cannot make her alive now. 

Jesus put them all out of the room, for they were 
not worthy to see the great work he was going to 
perforin. 

When the noisy mourners were gone, and he was 
alone with the father and mother, and Peter, James, 
and John, he took the hand of the little girl. Then 
he said unto her, Maiden, I say to thee, arise ! 

And the dead body heard the voice of him who 
is the Life of the World, and she arose and walked 
about the room. 

Jesus said to her parents, Give her something to 
eat; you see she is really alive and well. 

The parents were greatly pleased to have their 
little girl well again; and they, and all who heard 



54 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

about it, were very much surprised iudeed at this 
wonderful miracle. 

I dare say that you have often met a funeral when 
you have been out walking. Is it not a sad sight to 
see the mourners following to the grave the body of 
a dear friend ? 

Once, when Jesus was walking along the road, he 
saw a funeral coining out at the gates of the little 
town of Nain. 

A great many people were walking after Jesus, 
for they liked to hear him talk, and they also liked 
to see the wonderful things which he was constantly 
doing. 

By and by, they came close up to the funeral 
procession; it was a very long one. All the people 
who followed the dead body seemed to be grieving 
very much indeed. It was a young man that they 
were carrying to the grave. He was lying on a 
bier, which is something like a coffin without a lid. 

One poor woman was crying very much, for she 
was the mother of that young man, and he was her 
only son: she was a widow too, and now she was 
very sad and lonely. 

Everybody felt very sorry for her, but no one had 
any power to take away her trouble. When Jesus 
saw her, he felt very sorry too, and he had power to 
help her, and make her glad again. He said to her 
very gently, Weep not. 

He then went to the bier, and touched it; and 
those who were carrying it stood still, and all the 
crowd also stood still. 

No one spoke, but every one thought, What will 
the Master do? 



66 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

His disciples knew he could raise the dead, as well 
as cure the sick; but perhaps many thought, It is of 
no use to stop the funeral, for he cannot make the 
dead hear his voice; they are past cure. 

Oh, what a time of hope and fear was that ! 

Then Jesus spoke to the dead body, Young man, 
I say unto thee, arise ! 

Will he hear? Oh, yes! death obeys the voice of 
its Lord, and at once, he that was dead sat up and 
began to speak. 

Then Jesus, with great grace and kindness, gave 
him to his mother, and said, Here is your son alive 
again. 

So this funeral procession was changed into a 
joyful company, and every one wondered at the 
great work that Jesus had just done. 

He has raised a dead man to life again, people 
said, and the news spread in all the country round. 
Many people praised God for sending such a great 
prophet among them. Surely, they said, God hath 
visited his people. 

The fame of the wonderful works of Jesus spread 
everywhere, and many people wanted to see the 
man about whom every one was talking. 

One day a rich, proud Pharisee, named Simon, 
asked Jesus to come and dine with him. I am 
afraid he only asked him to come because he wanted 
to hear him talk, and not because he loved him. 

However, Jesus told Simon that he would come. 

When Jesus went, Simon treated him with great 
neglect; he did not honor Jesus as his guest. He 
ought to have brought him some water to wash his 
feet, as this was the first thins: that was done on 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 67 

coming into a house. As people in those countries 
only wore sandals, and not shoes, their feet would 
be very dusty after walking, and it was necessary to 
their comfort that they should often wash their feet. 
Then he should have given him some sweet oint- 
ment, and also a kiss of welcome, which means 
nearly the same thing as our shake of the hands. 

But Simon paid none of these attentions to Jesus. 
Perhaps he thought that he was doing the Lord a 
great favor by asking him to come to his house. ' 

When Jesus sat down to dinner, a woman came 
into the room. 

She had heard that Jesus was in this rich man's 
house, and she came to the place where he was re- 
clining, and stood at his feet. 

She began to cry very much, for she had been 
very naughty, and she longed to hear Jesus pardon 
her sins. She knew he would forgive her if she 
could but ask him, as she was very sorry, and 
wished to forsake her sins. She loved him dearly, 
and she felt sure that he would not send her away 
unforgiven. 

Her tears fell fast — like a shower of rain on the 
feet of Jesus, and so she washed them. 

She then wiped them dry with her long hair, and 
kissed his feet many times. 

She then opened a box that she had brought with 
her. It was a box of alabaster, a kind of pure 
white marble, and in it was some sweet, precious 
ointment. This she rubbed on the feet of Jesus. 

While she was doing this Simon looked on, and 
he was very much surprised that Jesus would even 
let the woman touch him. 



68 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

He said to himself, for he did not dare say it out 
loud, This Jesus is no prophet. If he were, he 
would know how wicked this woman has been, and 
he would have nothing to do with her; he would 
send her quite away. 

But Jesus did know, and he knew too what 
was passing in Simon's thoughts. He turned 
to him, and said, Simon, I have something to say 
to you. 

Simon said, Master, what is it? 

There was once a person to whom two men owed 
some money. One man only owed a little, the 
other owed a great deal. They had neither of them 
any money at all with which to pa) 7 their debts. 
Then the man to whom they owed the money for- 
gave them both, and said they need not pay any- 
thing. Tell me now which of these two men will 
love him the most ? 

Simon said, I suppose that he who owed the most, 
and who had most forgiven, will love the most. 

Yes, said Jesus, that is quite right. He then 
turned to the woman, and said to Simon, Do you 
see this woman ? 

Yes, said Simon. 

When I came to your house, you gave me no 
water to wash my feet; but she has washed my feet 
with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of 
her head. You gave me no kiss of welcome, but 
she has kissed my feet ever since she has been here. 
You poured no sweet oil upon my head, but she has 
rubbed my feet with precious ointment. She has 
done a great many sinful things, but I have forgiven 
her, and she loves me very much. You think that 



7o 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



you have not much to be forgiven, so you only love 
me a very little. 

Jesus then turned to the woman, and said to her 
in the kindest tones, Your many sins are all for- 
given you. You believed I would forgive you, and 
I have done so: go to your home in peace. 

The poor woman went away comforted at heart 
by these kind words of Jesus, but the people who 
were sitting at table with Jesus were very angry 
indeed. 

They would not believe that he could forgive 
sins, and they thought that he was taking on him- 
self the power of God when he forgave the woman. 

Who are you, that you should forgive sin ? they 
said to Jesus. 

The poor sinful woman was wiser than the proud, 
self-righteous Pharisee. She knew that Jesus could 
pardon sin, for she felt he had done so by the peace 
that he had given her. 

Jesus will pardon your sins if you confess them 
to him and desire to forsake them, Of course he 
will not forgive you, if you think yourself very 
good, as the Pharisee did. He does not love the 
proud, but he does love those who are sorry for 
their sin, and he will give them sweet comforting 
words of pardon. 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST y Z 

CHAPTER VI 

THE PARABLES— THE PRODIGAL SON — THE LOST 
SHEEP AND THE LOST MONEY. 

JESUS often taught people by parables. Do you 
know what a parable is ? It is a kind of story, 
in which something is explained by showing 
what it is like. 

We will tell you one of Christ's parables so you 
can see what is meant. 

Jesus wanted people to know what love God felt 
for all those who were sorry for sin, and he showed 
them what that love was like, by the love of an 
earthly father for his naughty but repentant son. 

He said, There was a man once who had two 
sons. 

One day, the younger son said to his father, 
Father, give me my share of your money and 
goods. 

Then the father divided all that he had between 
his two sons. 

Not many days after this, the younger son put all 
his things together, and took them and his money 
with him, and went on a long journey into a 
country a great way off. He wished to get as far 
from his good father as he possibly could, for he 
knew he would not like to see how badly he went 
on. 

He kept rude, bad company, and ate and drank a 
great deal, and not only spent his money, but wasted 
it in a great many wicked ways. 



72 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

At last his money and his goods were quite gone, 
and there was a great famine, or scarcity of food, in 
all the country. 

He began to want for bread: 

His old companions would not help him. Now 
that he had no money to spend', they left him all 
alone. 

He could not starve. What should he do ? 

He went to a man, and asked him to give him 
some work, so that he might earn something to 
eat. 

The man said, I have no work to give you unless 
you like to go into the fields to feed the herds of 
sw T ine. 

There was nothing that a Jew hated worse than 
to keep pigs. Only the very lowest and the very 
poorest would do such a thing. 

But this young man, though he had once been 
rich, and had fared sumptuously, was glad to do it, 
and even to eat of the coarse food that he gave to 
the pigs. This was a kind of pulse or pea. 

No one gave him anything else to eat. 

Sad, starving, and almost naked, he began to 
think of his disgrace, misery, and degradation. 

He thought of his old home, of his kind father, 
of his folly in leaving him, and wanting to do as 
he liked. Then he thought of all the unhappiness 
his wicked ways had brought him to, how his 
money was gone, and he had nothing left, and how 
not one of his sinful companions would help him 
now that he was in trouble. 

Then he thought of the servants in his father's 
house; even thev were better off than he was. 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 73 

They had food enough and to spare, while he was 
dying of hunger. 

Then he said, Why should I stop here? I will 
go back to my father, and say, Father, I have 
sinned against God, and against' you. I know I 
am not worthy to be called your son, but let me 
come to your house and be a servant. 

So he began to go back to his father, and at last 
he came within sight of his father's house, but as 
yet he was a great way off. 

The father happened to be looking along the road 
by which his son had gone away when he left his 
home. I dare say he was wondering what had be- 
come of him, he had not heard of him for so long. 
Perhaps he was wishing he could hear something 
about him, for he did not know whether he was alive 
or dead. At last he sees a poor ragged man walk- 
ing in the distance : he comes nearer and nearer, he 
seems coming to the house. The poor ragged man 
is just about as tall as his youngest son, he is some- 
thing like him too. Can it be his son come back, 
poor and wretched ? Yes, it is ; he knows him now, 
notwithstanding his rags and his half-starved look. 
Oh, how glad he feels ! he runs at once to meet him. 
His heart is full of pity for his poor son. As soon 
as he comes up to him, and before the son can say 
one word, he throws his arms around his neck and 
kisses him. 

Father, says the son, in a voice so full of grief 
that the father can only just hear him speak : 
Father, I have sinned against God in heaven, and 
against you. I do not deserve to be called your son. 

The father tells his servants to bring him not 



74 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

merely clothes, but the best robe ; and to put a ring 
on his hand, as a mark of honor, and shoes on his 
feet. 

He said, Get ready the best food too; kill the 
fatted calf, for we will have a feast and be merry. I 
thought my son was dead, but he is here alive ; I 
thought he was lost, but now he is found. 

Now his elder son drew nigh, and heard music 
and dancing. And he was angry, and would not 
go in, and said to his father, L,o, these many years 
have I served thee, and kave not transgressed; and 
yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make 
merry with my friends. And the father said, Son, 
thou art ever with me. It was meet that we should 
make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was 
dead, and is alive again; was lost, and is found. 

This parable is one of the most affecting, instruc- 
tive, and encouraging in the New Testament; and 
the pathos and divine simplicity of the narrative are 
unsurpassed in the sacred writings. Let us, realiz- 
ing its meaning, take the good intended in it, and 
return to our Heavenly Father, who is the merciful 
receiver of all truly penitent sinners. The Scribes 
and Pharisees had, as usual, been murmuring at the 
condescending goodness of the great Shepherd to 
the wandering sheep of the Jewish fold, saying, This 
man receiveth sinners. 

You who do many naughty things, you go a long 
way from God, and put him out of your thoughts, 
as the young man went into a far country, to forget 
his father, and be out of his sight. 

When you begin to think of the kind and good 
God whose commands you have broken, and feel 



7 6 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

sorry that you have grieved him by your naughty 
ways, then you are like the young man when he be- 
gan to think of his father and his sins. 

When you think, " I will go to God, and tell him 
I have sinned, and am most unworthy of his love," 
then you are like the young man when he said that 
he would go back to his father. 

But will God hear me when I go to him ? Will he 
love me again, notwithstanding all my sins ? Will 
he indeed forgive me ? 

That was the truth that Jesus wanted to teach. 
Yes; did not the earthly father take back his son in 
the most loving way to his home and heart? 

So God rejoices to see any sinner returning to 
him: he waits to be gracious. God's heart is 
kinder and more tender than any earthly father's 
heart. 

Jesus had lived in Heaven before he came to 
earth, and he knew how forgivingly the Heavenly 
Father received the repentant sinner. He came to 
show us the Father. 

God can show us his fatherly love, because Jesus 
died to bring us near to God, and because he bore 
the chastisement which our sins had deserved. 

But what about the jealous elder brother ? He was 
like the Pharisees who outwardly obeyed God, but 
had no love in their hearts, and had no pity for those 
who did wrong, even when they were sorry for it. 

In the parable of the repenting son, Jesus showed 
how God feels to those who are sorry for their sins. 

In the parables of the lost sheep and of the lost 
money, he shows how the angels feel when men 
turn away from sin and pray to God. 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



77 



Jesus said, There was once a shepherd who had a 
hundred sheep. He counted them over one day, 
and there were but ninety-nine; one was missing. 
He left the ninety-nine sheep and went looking over . 
the mountains to try to find the lost one. At last, 
to his great joy, he found it. He laid it across his 
shoulders, and brought it back to the flock. He 
then called all his friends together, and said to them, 
Be glad with me, for I have found my lost sheep. 

It seemed dearer to him, now that he had found 
it, than the ninety-nine sheep which had never 
strayed away. 

There was a woman who had ten pieces of silver 
money. She lost one of the ten pieces. She swept 
her room all over to try to find it. Then she lit a 
candle, so that she might search into every corner. 
At last she found it, and that one piece seemed more 
precious to her than all the other nine. 

She called her friends together and said, Rejoice 
with me, for I have found my lost money. 

As the shepherd rejoiced over his lost sheep when 
he found it, as the woman rejoiced over her lost 
money when she found it, so the angels rejoice over 
the return of even one lost soul to God. 

Why are the angels so glad ? 

Because they know what a soul is worth. All the 
riches of the whole world are of no value compared 
with the soul of one little child. 

Yet people often think but little of their souls. 
Not so the angels. 

They know so well what a dreadful thing it is to 
be lost. They know the awful state of those angels 
whom God turned out of Heaven because they 



7 8 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

sinned, and who now live in the dwelling-place of 
lost spirits. They grieve to think that anybody on 
earth should go there. They know that all those 
who do not love God cannot live with him in 
heaven; so they all rejoice when any one turns away 
from sinful ways, and prays to God. 

Heaven is their home, they have always lived 
there, and they know what a blessed place it is. 
That is why they are glad to think of any one com- 
ing to live with them in Heaven. 

In the dreary winter, when it is snowing fast, 
when the wind blows coldly, while you are sitting 
round a blazing fire in a comfortable home, with 
kind friends all around you, do you ever think of 
those who have no home, no friends, no comforts? 

If you do, do you not wish that they could have 
such a happy home as yours? 

So the angels look on us, as we wander away 
from our home in Heaven, and from God our Father. 

They think of the poor straying sheep losing it- 
self in the desert wilds, and oh, how glad they are 
when it is found ! 

You have strayed away from the fold of God, 
down into the paths of sin. Jesus is the good shep- 
herd who seeks to save you. Will you not ask him 
to bring you back again into holy ways, into the 
fold of God ? Will you not let the angels of Heaven 
rejoice over you because you are not going to be 
lost? 

Or will you let Satan and the wicked spirits re- 
joice to think, that by your sinful ways, you are 
getting more and more like them, and will one day 
come and live with them for ever ? 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



79 



CHAPTER VII 

THE LORD'S PRAYER — THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

JESUS often liked to be alone, that he might pray 
to his Father. 
He would go sometimes to the quiet moun- 
tain top, and spend the whole night in talking to 
and thinking of God. 

One day when he had finished praying, his disci- 
ples came to him and said, — 

Lord, will you teach us to pray ? 

Jesus then taught them a short prayer. It was 
the prayer which we call "The Lord's Prayer." I 
dare say you all know it: — 

" Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be 
thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done 
in earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our 
daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we 
forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us 
not into tempation, but deliver us from evil: for 
thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, 
for ever and ever. Amen." 

This is not an easy prayer for little children, but 
even they may understand some of its meaning. 

It begins, " Our Father which art in Heaven." 

God is our Father because he made us; but he is 
more our Father because Jesus died to make us his 
children. It is through Jesus that we dare to call 
God "Father." He is our Father in Heaven, so 
we must trust him with reverence. Heaven seems 
near to us when we pray. 



80 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

''Hallowed be thy name," means, Let God's 
name be honored. 

4 ''Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on 
earth as it is done in Heaven." How is God's will 
done in Heaven? It is done always, it is done 
cheerfully, it is done perfectly. How is God's will 
done on earth ? Alas ! only a few do it at all, 
and even those who do it best, do it very im- 
perfectly. But most men only do their own will, 
or Satan's will, so we may well pray, " Thy will be 
done." 

" Give us day by day our daily bread." It is God 
who gives us our daily food, and we may ask him 
for that which is necessary for us. 

"Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them 
that trespass against us." What are trespasses? 
They are sins. I have heard one little child say to 
another who has done him a wrong, I don't love 
you, and I won't forgive you. Have you ever said 
so? I suppose you would like God to forgive you 
your sins ? You have sinned more against God than 
ever a brother could sin against you. What if God 
should turn away his face from you; how unhappy 
it would make you feel ! 

Jesus said, If you will not forgive those who sin 
against you, your Heavenly Father cannot forgive 
you your sins against him. 

Before you pray to be forgiven, in your heart for- 
give all those who have done wrong to you; then 
will your Heavenly Father also forgive you. 

" Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from 
evil." This is a prayer to God to keep us from 
listening to Satan, who is often watching us and 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 8l 

trying to tempt us to do evil. We are so weak that 
we ask God to help us and save us. 

"For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the 
glory, for ever and ever. Amen." So the prayer 
ends with giving God all honor as the High and 
Lofty One, who ever lives as the King over all. 

When Jesus had finished this prayer, he said to 
his disciples, You may ask God for anything you 
want, it shall be given you. 

Then he said, Suppose a little boy should come to 
his father, and say, Father, I am hungry, will you 
give me some bread ? 

Do you think the father would give him a stone 
instead ? 

No; no kind father would give his child what he 
knows he cannot eat. 

Do you think then that God will give us what is 
of no use to us, instead of something that we have 
asked him for, and that we want very much indeed? 
Oh, no. 

Then Jesus said, Suppose a child should say, 
Father, will you give me some fish ? would he give 
him a serpent? Or if he said, Father will you give 
me an egg ? would he give him a scorpion ? 

No, you know that no father would give poison- 
ous, hurtful things to a dear child, when he asked 
him for food. 

Dear children, your father knows how to give you 
good things, but he would not give you things that 
were not good for you. 

Your father knows how to give you good things, 
but God only can give you the best things. 

Your father can give you a house to live in, and 



82 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

clothes, and food, and toys, and money, perhaps, 
but God can give you his Holy Spirit. Why is this 
the best of all ? Because the Holy Spirit will teach 
you to be good, and if you are good you will be 
happy. It is better to be good than to have all the 
fine things in the world; if you are good you will be 
like God, and live one day with him for ever, and 
that will be best of all. 

One summer morning, Jesus sat down upon a 
mountain plain, and called his disciples around him. 
There were a great many people there besides, and 
they all listened to the most wonderful sermon ever 
preached. 

We will not tell you all that Christ said, for you 
cannot understand it all yet. 

Though the sermon was long, the people who 
heard it were not tired, and they went away saying, 
What wonderful teaching is this of Jesus ! He 
speaks as if he knew more than any other teacher 
that we ever heard. 

Jesus began by telling them who the happy 
people were. 

He did not say, Blessed are the great, the rich, 
the famous. No; he taught them, saying, Blessed 
are those who feel that they are poor, and helpless, 
and wretched. 

Blessed are those who grieve over their sins, and 
wish they were better and holier than they are. 

Blessed are the meek and gentle-spirited. 

Blessed are those who long to be quite good, 
as a hungry and thirsty man longs for food and 
drink. 

Blessed are the merciful and kind-hearted. 



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84 A CHILD >S LIFE OF CHRIST 

Blessed are those who wish to be good in their 
hearts, to feel right as well as to do right. 

Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be 
called the children of God. 

If yon see any of your companions quarrelling, 
can you not be a little peace-maker between the 
two angry ones, by saying gentle, loving words to 
each ? 

Jesus said, You, my disciples, must be like a light 
in a dark place, you must be so good, that men may 
learn of you to love God and goodness. Your good- 
ness must not be like that of the Pharisees, for they do 
right that men may praise them. They are like a 
cup that is washed clean outside, but is unwashed 
and dirty inside. They do not care about having 
sinful thoughts and feelings, as men cannot see into 
their hearts. You must do right, not that men may 
say, How good you are, but that God, your Heavenly 
Father, may be praised by your goodness. 

Then Jesus said, You must be kind and forgiving 
to one another. I do not mean only to those who 
are kind and loving to you, but even to those who 
are unkind, and are your enemies. You must be 
like your Father in Heaven, for he is kind and good 
even to the unthankful and the unworthy. 

You must not be always looking out for the faults 
of others. Look into your own hearts, for your 
own faults. You will see how many you have, and 
how great they are, so you will learn to think 
kindly of other people's faults. 

If you wish to go to Heaven you will meet with 
many difficulties in the way. It is easy to walk in 
the way that leads to hell. It is like a broad and 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 85 

smooth road, pleasant to travel on. If you walk 
in this road you can be as unkind, as naughty, as 
selfish as you like. But if you walk in the narrow 
way you will often find it rough — so rough that 
only a few will venture in it. In a word, you must 
give up seeking to please yourselves, and try to 
please God and to do his will rather than your own. 
You must be patient, and good, and loving. You 
must feel right and think right as well as do right. 

But though the narrow way is hard, it has joys 
which are never known in the broad and easy way. 
There is pleasure in overcoming difficulties, there 
is peace in doing right, there is joy in God's smile, 
and his help is always ready for those who ask it, 

Jesus said, It is of no use for you to say that 
you belong to me, unless you really do what I tell 
you. 

The man who hears what I say, and who does 
what I tell him, is like a man who built his house 
upon a rock. One day a heavy storm of rain came 
down like a flood. The wind blew loud and strong, 
and the wind and rain together beat upon that 
house, but it did not fall. Why ? Because its 
foundation was a strong rock. 

Another man built his house upon the sand by 
the sea-shore. One day the sky became very dark, 
and the large black clouds burst over his house in 
torrents of rain. The wind roared loud, and beat 
hard upon the house, and it fell, and great was the 
fall of it. Why ? Because its foundation was weak, 
shifting sand. 

The foundation, or that on which the house is 
built, must be firm and strong, or the house will 



86 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

not stand. It does not matter how strongly the 
house is built, if the foundation on which it rests is 
weak. The house then will be sure to fall. 

Jesus said that those who heard what he said and 
did not obey him, were like the foolish man who 
built upon the sand. 

Children, if you do right out of love to Christ, 
you will not do right to be seen by others, nor will 
you yield to others when they tempt you to do 
wrong. Your reason for doing right is built upon 
the rock — Christ. 

But if you do right to be praised by men, or if 
you know what you ought to do but do it not, then 
you are like foolish man — your goodness is without 
a foundation. 



CHAPTER VIII 

HEALING THE MAN WITH THE PALSY — SABBATH- 
DAY CURES. 

YOU may be sure that the Pharisees did not like 
such sermons as those that Jesus preached. 
They did not like that he should see through 
their outside covering of goodness, into the wicked 
selfishness of their hearts. 

They showed their dislike by acting as spies upon 
all he did and said, and were always trying to find 
fault with him. 

They said that he made himself equal with God, 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 87 

and pretended to have more power than he really 
had. 

I will tell you how it was that they said he made 
himself greater than he really was. 

Jesus had been away from his house in Caper- 
naum for a few days, into the towns and villages 
near, to preach to the people there. When he 
returned home again, a great many people came to 
his house. Some were sick people who came to be 
made well; some were people in trouble who came 
to be comforted; some came to be taught, some 
came out of curiosity, and some came to find fault. 
Altogether there were a great many people there, 
so that the doorway was quite crowded. 

The Saviour was interrupted in his teaching by 
a noise outside the door. There seemed to be a 
great deal of pushing and loud talking. What do 
you think it was all about? 

A poor man who was ill with palsy, so that he 
could not use any of his limbs, or turn himself 
round in bed, or help himself in any way, wanted 
his friends to take him to Jesus. Beside all his 
pains of body, he was very unhappy because of 
his sins, so he wanted to be made well in body and 
mind too. 

His friends, seeing his great distress, said that 
four of them would carry him on his bed to Jesus. 

The beds in those countries were only a very 
thin, soft mattress, no bigger than a hearthrug, and 
used to be laid upon the ground. 

The four men went each to a corner of the bed, 
and carried the sick man along the streets till they 
came to the house where 'Jesus was. When they 



88 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

came to it, they found that they could not get 
through the door for the crowd. It was of no use 
to push, or call out to the people to move; there 
was no room to carry a sick man along. 

The poor man said, Do not carry me home again, 
I must see Jesus. 

The man's friends said, We cannot possibly get 
into the house. 

Then they thought of another and a strange way 
to reach the Saviour. 

There was a staircase outside the house which 
led to the roof. The roofs of all houses in those 
countries were flat, so that people could walk as 
well upon the house-tops as they could upon the 
floor of a room. 

The four men carried their sick friend up this 
outside staircase on to the flat roof. There was a 
door in the roof leading to an inside staircase, but 
this was not large enough to let a man through 
lying on his bed, so they made the opening 
larger by breaking away some of the tiles. Then 
they let him down into the room where Jesus was 
sitting. 

The Saviour was pleased to see their faith, and 
directly spoke to the sick man. 

First of all, he quieted the sorrow of his soul for 
his sins: he said, Be comforted, your sins are for- 
given you. 

The people who came to find fault with Jesus 
now said in their hearts, What a wicked man this 
Jesus must be, to pretend that he can forgive this 
man his sins, when only God can do that ! 

You know that Jesus can forgive sin because he 




CURING THE PARALYTIC 



3 9 



90 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

is God, but then wicked men would not believe 
that he was the Son of God. 

He could see into their hearts too, and knew the 
thoughts that were there. 

He said to them, You think that I cannot forgive 
sins, but which is the easiest thing to do, to say to 
the man, Your sins are forgiven you, or to tell him 
to get up and walk. I never say that I have power 
to do anything, without really having that power, 
and to show you how true this is, I say now to the 
sick man, Arise, take up your bed, and walk back 
to your home. 

Then the poor man, who before could not move 
a limb, but was obliged to be carried to Jesus, now 
rose, rolled up his bed, put it across his shoulders, 
and walked home. 

The people who looked on feared and wondered: 
they said, We never saw anything like this before. 
Strange things have happened to-day. 

They could but feel that it was only God who had 
the power to put life into those palsied limbs, there- 
fore he who could do this had also the power of 
God to forgive sins. 

The enemies of Jesus found yet more fault with 
him. Now they said that he did not keep holy the 
Sabbath-day. 

One Sabbath morning Jesus went into a syna- 
gogue to teach, and a man was there whose hand 
was so withered that he could not move it. The 
Saviour saw the poor man, and his enemies saw 
him too. 

They watched Jesus to see if he would heal him 
or not ; for, if he did so, they pretended that it 



A CHILD >S LIFE OF CHRIST ^ 

would be as bad as working on the Sabbath- 
day. 

He called to the man with the withered hand, and 
said, Stand up, so that all may be able to see you. 

The man stood up. Jesus turned to the fault- 
finders, and said, I want to ask you a question: Is it 
right to do good on the Sabbath-days or to do evil? 
to save life or to kill ? 

Jesus meant them to feel that if any one can do 
good and will not, then he does evil by refusing to 
do the good. He could cure this poor man, then he 
ought to do so, for it was a duty to save life even on 
a Sabbath-day. 

Jesus further said, Suppose one of you had a sheep 
which fell into a pit on a Sabbath-day, would you 
leave the poor sheep in the deep hole till the next 
day because you would not break the Sabbath? 
You know you would not. Is not a man better than 
a sheep ? Why, then, should this poor man go on 
suffering pain till to-morrow, when I can make him 
well to-day ? 

Jesus looked all around, to see if any one had any- 
thing to answer. All were silent. 

Then he turned to the man and said, Stretch out 
your hand. The man obeyed the command; the 
hand was cured. 

The Pharisees were not glad to see the man made 
well. No, they w r ere mad with anger, and said, 
We will kill this Sabbath-breaker. 

Again, on another Sabbath, while Christ was 
teaching in the synagogue, he saw among his 
hearers a poor woman. Her back was bent down, 
and she could in no wise lift herself up. 



9 2 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRLST 

For eighteen long, weary years had this poor 
woman gone about bowed down under this affliction. 
The compassionate eye of Jesus saw her. He said, 
Woman, come to me: she came, glad to be called by 
the Healer. He laid his hands on her, and said, 
Woman, you shall be cured. As soon as the words 
were spoken, her back was made straight, and she 
could walk upright, and she thanked God. 

The ruler of the synagogue did not dare to blame 
Jesus before all the people, so he turned to them and 
said, Why do you come on the Sabbath-day to be 
healed ? There are six days in the week besides; in 
them men ought to work, and in them come and be 
healed. 

The Lord turned to the ruler, and said, You false 
man; you know that every one of you will take care 
of his ox or his ass, and loose them from their stalls 
and take them to their watering-place, even on a 
Sabbath-day. Why should I not, even on a Sab- 
bath-day, loose this poor woman from her burden, 
under which she has been bowed down for eighteen 
years ? 

When Jesus had said these things, his enemies felt 
ashamed that he should have reproved them before 
all the people, but others rejoiced at the glorious 
things that were done by him. 

At another time, a Pharisee asked Jesus to come 
to his house, to eat a meal with him, one Sabbath- 
day. He did not ask him out of friendship, only to 
spy his conduct. He had caused a man all swollen 
with dropsy to be there too ; so this Pharisee and his 
friends watched Jesus to see if he would heal him. 
The Saviour did heal the man, and he asked the 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



93 



Pharisees if it was not right to cure on the Sabbath- 
day? They made no answer, and Jesus knew that 
it was of no use to try to teach them what was right, 
if they were determined not to learn. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE PAP ABLE OF THE HIDDEN TREASURE — PAR- 
ABLE OF THE PEARL — FEEDING THE MULTITUDE 
— THE TRANSFIGURATION. 

ONE day Jesus went into a desert place with his 
disciples, for he wanted to be alone with them, 
that he might teach them quietly. 

A great many people saw them go, and followed 
after them. When Jesus saw the crowds coming to 
him, he was not angry at being disturbed. He felt 
pity for them; they seemed to him to be like sheep 
without a shepherd. He began to teach them many 
things, and to heal those that had need of healing. 

We do not know exactly what it was that Jesus 
taught that day, but the large multitude never 
wearied of listening to him. We know that he 
spoke to them of God's kingdom, and often talked in 
parables. 

It may be that he said, The kingdom of God is 
like treasure hidden in a field. One day a man 
found this treasure: he said nothing to any one about 
what he had found, but sold all that he had, so that 
he might have money enough to buy the field, and 
then the treasure would be his own, 



94 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

Jesus meant that he who would share in God's 
kingdom must be willing to give up everything for 
it: wealth, the good opinion of others, ease, self- 
pleasing, everything, in fact, that would prevent his 
having that greatest good — treasure in Heaven. If 
necessary, all these should be given up for that. 

Perhaps he told them the story of the beautiful 
pearl. How a man who bought and sold pearls, 
went to the countries and markets where they were 
to be found, seeking for some which should be pure, 
and large, and precious. 

One day he saw a pearl so large and costly, that 
it was fit to be placed in the crown of a king. This 
pearl was worth so much, that he was obliged to sell 
all that he had, before he was able to buy it. When 
he had bought it, he felt now that he was rich indeed. 

Jesus meant, some of you are going about, seeking 
for the pearl of happiness. Some of you seek it in 
riches, but you will not find it there; some of you 
seek it in learning, but you will not find it there; 
some of you seek it in pleasure, but you will not 
find it there; and some of you seek happiness in 
always trying to have your own way, and in pleasing 
yourselves, but you will only find unhappiness there. 

The pearl of true happiness is only to be found by 
believing in me, and learning of me, and obeying 
my voice. 

You must be willing to give up everything for me, 
as the pearl-merchant was willing to give up all that 
he had, so that he might be able to buy that lovely 
pearl. 

All who seek thus to enter into the kingdom of 
God will be sure to find, what is far better than a 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 95 

costly pearl — rest and joy. None ever seek in vain, 
all are satisfied. 

Perhaps Jesus said, Some of you are poor, I see, 
and sometimes you feel afraid that you will not 
always have food and clothing enough. Do not be 
fearful, have trust in God. Look at the fowls of the 
air; they do not sow seed for food, they do not reap, 
nor store up their food in barns, yet your Heavenly 
Father feeds them. It is your Father who feeds 
them. Did you ever know a father on earth feed 
his fowls, and starve his children ? 

You know that you never did. You may be quite 
sure, then, that the Heavenly Father is not less kind 
than an earthly one. 

Think of the beautiful lilies, too, how they grow 
up in all their loveliness, with no care on their part 
as to how they shall grow. They do not spin their 
white robes, which are more beautiful and glorious 
than all the grandeur of your grandest king. Even 
Solomon had no robes like theirs. But they take 
no thought for their clothing; God takes care for 
them, though they are only flowers. You may be 
quite sure, then, that your Father will not let you 
want for proper clothing, if he thus clothes the 
flowers of the field. 

Be more careful to enter the kingdom of God 
than to enjoy any earthly good. Your Father knows 
what you need, and he will not forget you. 

Such things as these, and many others, did Jesus 
say to the multitude, as they stood or sat around 
him in that desert place. 

All wondered at his gracious words, all said, 
Never man spake like this man. 



9 6 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

The day was far spent, and still they crowded 
round to listen to the Heavenly Teacher. 

Then some of the twelve disciples said, Will you 
not tell the multitude to go home now; the day is 
nearly gone, and this is a desert place? Send them 
into the towns and villages round about, so that 
they may buy themselves food, for they have nothing 
to eat. 

Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give 
ye them to eat. 

They replied, We have only a little food our- 
selves — five small barley loaves, and two fishes. 
(These loaves were only as large as a good-sized 
biscuit.) 

The disciples thought that it was no use to offer 
them to the vast crowds around them. The Master 
said, Make all the people sit down upon the grass. 
Then they sat down by hundreds and by fifties. 

Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given 
thanks, he broke them into pieces, and sent his 
disciples round to the people with the loaves and the 
fishes which he had divided. 

I cannot tell you how it was that the loaves and 
fishes were enough for all that were there, but Jesus 
made enough for all. 

Every man, woman, and child was satisfied. 

Jesus said, Do not let the pieces that are over be 
wasted; go round and pick them up and put them 
into baskets. 

How many people do you think there were to eat 
of these five loaves and two fishes? 

There were five thousand men, beside women and 
children. I dare say one hungry man could have 



9 8 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

eaten those five little loaves and two small fishes, 
but Jesus had made them enough for five thousand 
men. Besides that, when the disciples had gathered 
together all the pieces, there was so much left that 
they filled twelve baskets with them. So you see 
there was more at the end of the meal than there 
was at the beginning. 

But though Jesus could thus create, or make 
something out of nothing, as only God can, yet he 
would' not allow waste. He did not say, Never 
mind the broken pieces, I can always create more. 
No, he said, Take care of the pieces, so that nothing 
be lost. 

Some children, and, indeed, grown-up people too, 
are very wasteful. Though they cannot create one 
crumb, yet they waste a great many. We must 
learn to be like Jesus in all things. If we do not 
want the broken pieces, there are many poor people 
who do, so that we should take care of them for 
their sakes. It is better to give away than to waste, 
and u blessed is he that considereth the poor." 

You know that Jesus lived on earth as a poor 
man. Many people thought that he really was only 
a poor man; and when he told them that he was the 
Son of God, they would not believe him. 

Notwithstanding the many and notable miracles 
which Jesus wrought continually before the eyes of 
his disciples, their faith in him appears, nearly up 
to the time of his death, to have been feeble and 
wavering. There was, no doubt, much of the 
national temper in this. The Jewish mind was 
naturally more inflexible and perverse in the matter 
of belief than that of the Gentiles generally. Our 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 99 

Lord had repeated occasion to reprove the infidelity 
even of his own disciples, and to commend the faith 
of Gentiles. 

They might have known by the wonders that he 
did, and by his teaching, that he was more than a 
mere man, but they only judged of him by what he 
seemed to be. 

Once, however, his three favorite disciples saw 
him look quite differently from his usual appear- 
ance. 

One day he took Peter, James, and JoIj^l to the 
top of a high mountain, where they were quite 
alone. He went there to pray, and as he prayed he 
was changed before them. 

His face did shine as the sun, and his clothes 
w 7 ere like robes of light. So exceeding white were 
they, that the disciples knew that their splendor 
was not of earth, but of Heaven. 

Two men then came from Heaven to speak to 
him. They w^ere Moses and Elijah. 

Moses, who was the giver of the Law to the Jews, 
came to speak to him who was the End of the Law. 
After Christ was offered up upon the cross, all the 
Jewish sacrifices, which only pointed to his death, 
were to be done away with, as no longer needful. 
Elijah, the prophet, was there to speak to him, of 
whose coining the prophets had foretold. Now 
their prophecy is ended in fulfilment — Christ has 
come. 

They talked together of the great event so soon to 
happen — the death of Jesus at Jerusalem, for the 
sake of sinful men. 

This death w^as the wonder of the bright angels 



IOO A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

in Heaven; they could hardly understand it. Now 
that Moses and Elijah have come from Heaven, it is 
that which they talk about. Jesus, too, felt deeply 
the need there was for his death, when he saw how 
deeply man had fallen. He thought much of it, he 
talked about it, he prayed about it. 

But how little do we think of the Saviour's great 
love, and of our great sins which led to his death ! 

At last Moses and Elijah went back to Heaven. 
Then a cloud of light came all around the disciples, 
and they were afraid as they entered into it. 

Out of the cloud came a voice, and they heard 
these words, — This is my beloved Son, in whom 
I am well pleased; hear ye him ! 

Moses and Elijah are gone; they taught of a 
Messiah to come. He is come, he is Jesus who is 
my beloved Son, hear and obey him now. 

This was the meaning of that voice. 

When the disciples heard it, they fell down on 
their faces; they were so afraid that they dared not 
look upon the glory around them. 

Jesus came and touched them: Do not be afraid, 
he said. They lifted up their eyes, they saw no one 
there but Jesus. Moses and Elijah were gone, the 
bright cloud had passed away, the voice spoke no 
more. 

Jesus said, You have seen my glory, but do not 
tell any one what you have seen, until I am risen 
from the dead. 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



CHAPTER X 

THE STRIFE OF THE DISCIPLES AS TO WHO SHOULD 
BE GREATEST — THE MAN WHO WAS BORN BLIND 
— THE STORY OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 

SOMETIMES Jesus sent out his disciples into 
the villages, to teach other people what he had 
before taught them. Once when they were 
returning to Capernaum, after one of these journeys, 
they began talking together, and at last their words 
were sharp and hasty ; they disputed among them- 
selves. 

What do you think it was that they quarrelled 
about ? It was about which of them was best, who 
loved Jesus most, who worked the hardest to teach 
others, and who should have the first place in the 
kingdom of God. 

When they came to Capernaum, they went to the 
house where Jesus was. 

Jesus looked up to them and said, What was it 
that you were quarrelling about as you walked 
along? They were all so ashamed of themselves 
that they could not give him any answer. Besides, 
they knew that if he could tell that they had been 
disputing, he could also tell what it was about. 

I dare say that each of them thought that he was 
the best, and that not one of them was so meek 
and lowly as the disciples of so good a Master 
should be. 

Jesus called to a little boy, who was near, to come 
to him. 



I0 2 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

He put him into the midst of the disciples, and 
said, This child is the least of you all, he knows 
the least, he thinks you are better than he is. Be 
like this little child among yourselves; be humble, 
think but little of yourselves, and much of the 
good of others. Be meek and lowly, and do not 
care for grandeur. Great things and little things 
done for me are of the same worth, if both are done 
out of love to me. All you do is worth only the 
love that leads you to do it. 

Children, do you ever quarrel to be first? Do 
you ever think that you deserve the best things? 
Are you unwilling to give up your will to please 
others ? Do you ever say sharp, hasty, proud 
words? 

Remember that Jesus hears you, and is grieved to 
see such selfish conduct. 

If you want to share his kingdom, you must obey 
his laws of love. 

If you would like to be his little children, you 
must learn of him to be meek and lowly in heart, 
and loving hearts will do loving actions. 

One Sabbath-day, as Jesus was leaving the temple 
at Jerusalem with his disciples, they saw, in pass- 
ing along, a man begging, who had been blind 
from his birth. 

The disciples said, Master, why is this man blind? 
Is it as a punishment for his own sins, or for the 
sins of his parents ? 

Jesus answered, Do not suppose that those people 
whom you see suffer most pain are the most wicked. 
This man is not blind for any sin of his own, nor 
for any sin of his parents, but that the power of 



104 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



God may be seen by his cure. I will remove his 
blindness; as long as I am in the world, I am the 
light of the world. 

When he had said these words, he spat on ground 
and made clay of the spittle, and rubbed the eyes 
of the blind man with the clay, and said, Now go 
and wash yourself in the pool of Siloam. 

The man went to the pool, and he came back 
seeing. 

This blind beggar was well known; many had 
seen him as he sat daily by the side of the road ask- 
ing for charity. 

The neighbors were astonished, and said, Is not 
this he who sat by the wayside begging ? 

Some said, Yes, it is the same man. 

Others, It is not he, but somebody like him. 

The blind man said, I am the very man; I once 
was blind. 

They asked, How is it that your eyes are opened? 

He answered, A man named Jesus put some clay 
upon my eyes, and told me to go and wash in the 
pool of Siloam. I went and washed, as he bade me, 
and then my eyes were opened, so that I could see. 

They said, Where is this man Jesus? 

He answered, I do not know where he is gone. 

Then they took the blind man to the Pharisees, 
and they asked him how it was that his eyes were 
opened. 

He told them, as he had before told his neigh- 
bors, that Jesus had cured him. 

Oh! said some of the Pharisees, this Jesus is not 
a good man, for he has broken the Sabbath-day by 
curing you. 



A CHILD'S LIFE C,< CHRIST l0 ^ 

Others said, He must be a good man, for God 
would not give a wicked man the power to do such 
a wonderful work as this. 

So they could not agree among themselves about 
Jesus. They turned to the blind man and asked, 
What do you think of him ? He opened your eyes, 
you ought to be able to tell whether he is a good 
man or not. 

He answered, He is a prophet, a man of God. 

The Jews then said, Surely there must be some 
mistake; you were not really blind before, you only 
pretended to be so. 

Then they called the man's parents, and asked 
them, Is this your son? You say he was born 
blind: how is it then that he can now see? 

The parents answered, This man is our son, and 
he was born blind; but how it is that he can see 
now, we do not know. He is grown up, and quite 
able to answer any questions himself that you may 
wish answered. You had better ask him how it is 
that his eyes are opened. 

When they heard what the parents said, and how 
it was quite true that the man was born blind, they 
called him to them again. 

They said, Give God the praise of your cure, for 
we know that this Jesus is a sinner. 

The man answered, Whether what you say is 
true or not, of one thing I am quite sure, that he 
has cured me. I was blind, but now I see. 

Again they asked, What did he do to you ? How 
did he open your eyes ? 

The man replied, I have told you once already, 
but you would not believe me. Why do you wish. 



io 6 ^ CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

me to tell you again. Is it because you wish to 
become his disciples. 

Then they were very angry, and said skarp un- 
kind things to the poor man. You are the disciple 
of that false teacher ! You are the disciple of that 
Sabbath-breaker ! But we follow the teaching of 
the true prophet, Moses, who was sent of God to 
teach us his will. As to this man Jesus, we do not 
know where he comes from ! The man said, How 
strange this is: you Pharisees, who pretend to be so 
wise, and learned, and good, can you not tell a false 
teacher from a true one, or know good from evil ? 
Has not this Jesus opened my eyes, although I have 
been blind all my life before, as my parents have 
told you, and as every one in the town knows ? 

No one could do this unless God gave him the 
power, and God does not give such power to wicked 
men. So wonderful a cure as mine was never heard 
of before, and if Jesus was not sent by God he could 
not have done it. 

The Pharisees were now still more angry, and 
said, You wicked, ignorant man ! How dare you 
pretend to teach us, who are so much wiser and 
better than you are ? 

Then they drove him away from them, turned 
him out of the synagogue, and said they would not 
let him worship with them any more, for he was not 
fit to he a member of the Jewish church. 

Jesus heard how badly the Pharisees had treated 
the man whom he had cured. 

With great love and tenderness, he found out 
where he was. When he had found him, he said, Do 
you believe in the Son of God ? 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 10 y 

The man had not seen Jesus before, for he had 
left him when he sent him to the pool to wash. He 
came back seeing, but the Saviour was gone away. 
This, therefore, was the first time that the man saw 
him who had restored his sight. 

In answer to the question of Jesus, he said, L,ord, 
who is the Son of God, that I might believe in him ? 

Jesus said, You see him now, it is he who is talk- 
ing to you. 

Then the man knew that it was the same person 
who had cured him; he said, Lord, I believe, and he 
worshiped him. 

Jesus first of all gave sight to the eyes of his body, 
then he opened the eyes of this man's mind, so that 
he might see in him the Saviour. 

The Pharisees, though they could see Jesus with 
the eyes of their bodies, would not own that he was 
the Saviour, the Son of God. 

They pretended to be wise, so they did not like 
his telling them, that if they did not know him they 
were ignorant. They did not like his reproving 
them for their faults, they would not see that they 
had any, therefore they were willingly blind. 

Are you like the Pharisees? Are you blind to 
your sins ? Are you blind to your Saviour ? 

Jesus says, I am the light of the world; he that 
followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall 
have the light of life. 

Jesus said, I am the Good Shepherd. 

You know that a shepherd is a man who takes 
care of sheep. 

Many of the good men that we read of in the 
Bible were shepherds. Jacob and his sons were 



io 8 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

shepherds. David was a shepherd before he be- 
came a king, and many others that we read of in the 
Bible were shepherds too. 

In Eastern countries, shepherds are very fond of 
their sheep. They lead them into sweet pastures 
by day, and at night, should any wild beast come 
near the flock, they will hasten to save the sheep 
even at the risk of their own lives. 

When a lamb is tired or ill, they will not let it 
walk, but put it into the folds of their loose dress 
and carry it in their bosom. They gently lead their 
flocks, for it would not do to drive them fast under 
the burning sun of those Eastern lands. 

When a silly sheep or lamb strays away from the 
fold, how carefully does the shepherd look over the 
mountain slopes and behind the rocks and bushes to 
find the wanderer ! 

When it is found, how greatly does he rejoice 
over the lost sheep ! 

The shepherd goes before his sheep, and they 
follow him. He does not drive his sheep, as shep- 
herds do here. They know his voice, and he calls 
them by their names. 

A few years ago, a gentleman was traveling in 
Judea, and he was watching one of these shepherds 
as he tended his flock. He saw that the shepherd 
often plucked some grass and called one or other of 
the sheep to him. He went up to him and said, 
The sheep come when you call them, but I suppose 
they would come to any one dressed as you are. 
The shepherd said, Will you try, sir? So the 
gentleman and the shepherd changed clothes. 

The gentleman, dressed as the shepherd, plucked 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST I09 

a handful of grass, and called a sheep, but it would 
not come ; it did not know the stranger's voice. 

The shepherd, who was dressed as the gentleman, 
then called a sheep, and it came directly, even 
though he had no food to offer it. 

There! see, sir, the shepherd said, it is my voice 
they know, no matter how I am dressed. A stranger 
they will not follow. 

Jesus is like the good shepherd of whom I have 
been telling you. 

Grown-up people are the sheep, and children are 
the lambs of the fold. 

The good shepherd will seek after the sheep that 
has wandered; Jesus came to seek and to save those 
who have gone astray from God, and are lost in the 
ways of sin. 

The good shepherd will risk his life to save his 
sheep. Jesus has laid down his life for the sake of 
his sheep. 

The good shepherd feeds his flocks with sweet 
pasture; Jesus feeds his people with truth for the 
soul. He puts good thoughts into their hearts. He 
gives them the Holy Spirit. 

Are you one of the lambs of Christ's flock? 

The sheep obey the shepherd's voice, they come 
when he calls them, they go where he leads them. 

Do you follow Jesus? Do you obey his voice? 

When you want to go in the path of your own 
sinful will, do you stop and say, No, the Good 
Shepherd does not lead me here, I will go in the 
way that he leads ? 

He leads from all selfishness, pride, anger, deceit, 
envy, and every sin. 



IIO A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

He leads to gentleness, meekness, truthfulness, 
love, and all goodness. 



CHAPTER XI 

JESUS AND THE CHILDREN — THE RICH YOUNG 
MAN. 

IN one of the towns beyond the river Jordan, some 
people might be seen talking earnestly together. 
Jesus of Nazareth was come into their town, 
and all day he had been teaching them and healing 
their sick. It was about him they spoke. 

Surely, said one, He must be Israel's promised 
Saviour. Yes, said another, No prophet has ever 
yet done such wonderful works as we see him do. 
And how strange are his teachings, how full of love 
his words ! and he heals the sick so tenderly ! said a 
third. 

He is greater than our father Abraham, said a 
young Hebrew mother; how I should like his blessing 
on my child ! She looked fondly on her baby as it 
lay asleep in her bosom — it was her first-born son. 

Let us take our children to him, said the parents 
of the group, and ask him to put his hands on them 
and bless them. 

The parents took their little ones, and went to the 
place where Jesus was sitting with his disciples. 

What are these children coming here for? said 
Peter, James, and John. Take them away; the 
Master cannot be troubled with voung children. 



U2 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

They are not sick, they do not want healing; you 
cannot bring them here. 

But Jesus said, Come back. 

He turned to his disciples and said, I am very 
much displeased with you: why do you send them 
away? It is true they have not come for healing, 
but they want a blessing. Let the little ones come 
unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the 
kingdom of Heaven. 

So the children came near to the gentle Jesus, and 
he took the babies in his arms, and put the little 
ones on his knee, and placed his hands on the heads 
of the others, and gave them his blessing. 

Oh, how happy were those parents as they went 
to their homes, saying, We knew he would notice 
the children. He seemed pleased to have them 
brought to him. 

Can you not fancy how one of the bigger children 
said, as she laid her head on her pillow that night, 
Mother, I shall never forget the kind look of that 
prophet of Nazareth as long as I live. Is God as 
kind as he ? They say, my daughter, that he says he 
is the Son of God. One of his strange sayings is 
That he has come to show us the Father. 

Oh, mother, all he says must be true, said little 
Ruth. 

Yes, he calls himself "the Truth," said the 
mother, thoughtfully. Now go to sleep, little Ruth, 
and dream of this wonderful Stranger. 

Little Ruth went to sleep, and in her dreams she 
saw again the kind face, and heard again the gentle 
tones whispering in her ear. Let the little ones 
come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is 



114 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



the kingdom of Heaven. It seemed to little Ruth 
as if she was in Heaven. 

Did you ever hear a little voice saying, in the 
words of the hymn that all children know, — 

" I wish that his hand had been placed on my head, 
That his arm had been thrown around me, 
And that I might have seen his kind look, when he said, 
' Let the little ones come unto me. ' ' ' 

I wish my parents could take me to Jesus. Where 
is Jesus? Up in Heaven, you say, a long way off. 

Yes, he is in Heaven, but he is near us too. We 
have only to speak to him and he is close by us, 
though we cannot see him. 

And your parents speak to Jesus about you, and 
ask him to bless you. Every time they pray for 
you they bring you to Jesus. 

You can go to Jesus yourself by prayer, and say, 
Jesus, give me a blessing, even as thou didst on 
earth long ago bless little children. And if you 
really pray, you will feel his love coming into your 
heart, and then you will know that you have his 
blessing. 

Among the many people who came to Jesus was a 
rich young man, and he was a ruler of the syna- 
gogue. He seemed to be very much in earnest, for 
he came running to the Saviour. He looked upon 
him as worthy of great respect, for he knelt before him 
as he spoke to him. He came to ask the most im- 
portant of all questions that any one can ask, Good 
Master, what shall I do that I may have eternal life? 
He had wealth, he had position, he had the good 
opinion of others, but he felt that he had not eternal 



A CHILD'S j^iFE OF CHRIST 



115 



life. The good things of this life could not make 
him happy; he wanted a better life than they could 
give, so he came to ask Jesus how he should obtain it. 

Jesus said, If you wish for a life of endless happi- 
ness, keep the commandments. 

Which ? inquired he. 

You know them, replied the Saviour; do not kill, 
do not steal, do not say unkind and untrue things 
of others, obey and honor your father and your 
mother, and love your neighbor as yourself. 

Master, I have kept these laws from my youth 
until now; what more need I do? 

Jesus looked at him as he asked this question; 
and as he looked he loved him. 

He saw before him a kind-hearted man, one of 
those whose outward conduct was without fault. 
But the Saviour looked into his heart, and saw that 
all this outward goodness did not spring from love 
to God. Something there was loved more than 
God: that something was his riches. He cared more 
for his treasure on earth, than for treasure in Heaven. 

Jesus said, If you wish for eternal life above every- 
thing else, then go and sell all that you have, and 
give away your money to the poor; you shall then 
have treasure in Heaven: and come and follow me. 

These words of Jesus fell sadly on the ear of the 
rich ruler: he could not do this one thing that Jesus 
asked him. Part of his riches he might have been 
willing to have given up, but all — no, the sacrifice 
was too great, even if eternal life was the reward. 
He had come to Jesus gladly, but he turned away 
from him with sorrow, for he could not follow him 
and give up his possessions. 



H6 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

When he was gone, Jesus looked round about on 
his disciples, and said, How hard is it for a rich 
man to enter into the kingdom of Heaven. 

How is it so difficult ? asked the disciples. 

Because, said the Master, he who would follow 
me into eternal life, must be willing to give up all 
for me. 

Rich people think a great deal about their houses, 
and lands, and money, and rank, and it is so hard to 
give up what is so highly valued on earth for 
treasure in Heaven. 

It is not always that Christ commands the rich to 
sell their goods and give away the money to the 
poor, but every rich man should be willing to do so 
for God's sake. 

Where this rich ruler was wrong was, that he 
cared more for his money, his rank, and his ease, 
than to please God. He thought that he was very 
good, but Jesus showed him that his heart was sin- 
ful, even if his outward conduct was good. God 
was not chief and first with him. If he had been 
kind and good to his neighbor, and so kept part of 
the commandments, he had not kept the first part, 
which is to love God with all the heart, and soul, 
and strength. He loved himself best. 

What is it that you care for most ? Is it to have 
your own way, and to please yourself? 

Then, whether you are rich or poor, you are as 
bad as this rich ruler, for you are not willing to 
give up your all for God's sake. If you will not 
do this, Jesus says, you cannot be my disciple. 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST nj 



CHAPTER XII 

MARY AND MARTHA — THE RAISING OF LAZARUS 
FROM THE DEAD — BLIND BARTIMEUS — THE CALL- 
ING OF ZACCHEUS — MARY ANOINTS JESUS' FEET. 

ABOUT a mile and a half from the city of Jeru- 
- salem, at the bottom of the Mount of Olives, 
was the village of Bethany. 

In one of the houses there, lived a brother and 
two sisters. Their names were Lazarus, Mary, and 
Martha. They all three loved Jesus dearly, and he 
loved them, too, very much. 

He would often go to see them while he was 
staying at Jerusalem, for it was a pleasant walk to 
Bethany from that city. 

Martha was the mistress of the house. She liked 
to show her love to Jesus by being very busy and 
making him nice things to eat. Mary liked best to 
sit at the feet of Jesus and to hear him talk. 
Martha was once vexed with Mary because she did 
not come and help her, and she said to Jesus, L,ord, 
bid my sister come and help me. 

Jesus said, Martha, you need not take so much 
trouble on my account; but one thing is needful, 
and Mary is wise to listen to the good things which 
I talk about: you had better choose the same good 
part too. 

So Jesus, instead of sending Mary away to help 
Martha get him a feast, told Martha to sit by Mary's 
side and have a feast from him of things good for 
the soul. 



H8 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

One day Lazarus was taken very ill. He became 
worse and worse. The sisters said, Let us send to 
our dear friend Jesus, and tell him. Jesus was then 
in Persea, about a day's journey from Bethany. 

This was the message that they sent: Lord, he 
whom thou lovest is sick. 

Jesus told the man who brought the message, to 
tell Martha and Mary that this sickness would not 
end in the death of Lazarus. 

This message comforted the sisters: they thought, 
He will surely come himself and heal him. 

But Jesus stayed on in the place where he was 
teaching the people when the message came. 

Oh, what a weary time that was at Bethany at 
the house of Lazarus ! He died on the evening of 
the very day that the messenger returned from 
Jesus. 

The next day the sisters said one to another, 
Surely our dear friend will come to-day; but the 
shades of evening closed over Bethany, and Jesus 
had not come. 

In those hot countries people are obliged to bury 
their friends a very short time after death. So 
Mary and Martha had to bury their brother before 
Jesus came. 

All the next day they waited, but they waited in 
vain. He seemed to have broken his promise: he 
had always been faithful and true before, but now 
he seemed false. He said the sickness would not 
end in death — but Lazarus was dead. 

At last they sent again to tell him that Lazarus 
was dead. 

Jesus then said to his disciples, Let us go to 



I20 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

Bethany, our friend Lazarus sleeps: I will go and 
awake him. 

They said, Lord, if he sleeps he will get better. 
But Jesus spoke of the sleep of death, while they 
thought that he spoke of the rest of sleep. So 
Jesus told them plainly that Lazarus was dead. 

When Jesus was near Bethany, Martha heard 
that he was coming, and she went to meet him. 

The very sight of him brought her a little hope. 

She said, Lord, if you had but come before, my 
brother would not have died; but even now I know 
that God will do whatever you ask him. 

Jesus knew what she was hoping for, and said, 
Your brother shall rise again. 

Martha said, Yes, Lord, I know he will rise again 
at the last day. She hardly liked to say, But will 
he rise again now ? 

Jesus said, It is from me that all life comes: the 
souls of those that believe in me shall never die, 
and, even if their bodies are dead, I can make them 
live again now, as well as at the resurrection-day, 
when all dead bodies will rise from the grave. Do 
you believe this ? 

She said, Yes, Lord, I believe you are the Son of 
God, and can do all things. 

When she had said so, she went back to the 
house to her sister Mary, and whispered in her ear 
the welcome words, The Master is come, he asks 
for you. 

Poor Mary was sitting in the house with a great 
many friends, some of whom had come from Jeru- 
salem to comfort her and her sister in their trouble. 
She was broken-hearted with grief, but at these 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 121 

softly-spoken words of Martha's she felt that he 
who could indeed comfort her was come. She rose 
up hastily, and went out to go to the Saviour. 

The Jews who were in the house had not heard 
what Martha had said to Mary, and they thought 
that she was going to the grave, of Lazarus to weep ■ 
there. So they followed her. 

Jesus had not yet come into the village; he had 
stayed in the place where Martha had left him. 

When Mary saw Jesus, she fell down at his feet, 
and could only cry out, Lord, if you had but come, 
my brother would not have died. 

She could say no more: her tears fell fast. 

Then the Jews that w^ere with her wept too; the 
grief of the sisters was so great. 

The sight of all this sorrow went to the heart of 
the Man Christ Jesus. He sighed a deep, bitter sigh. 

Tell me where you have buried him. 

They said, Lord, come with us and we will show 
you. 

So they walked to the grave, and Jesus wept. 
He loved Martha, and Mary, and Lazarus, and his 
tender heart could not bear to see this dreadful 
grief, and not to share it. 

Some of the Jews, when they saw his tears, said, 
He must have loved Lazarus very much. 

Others, who were not very kind, said, If he can 
make blind people see, he could have made the sick 
man well; so if he had loved him he would not 
have let him die at all. 

At last they came to the tomb: it was a cave. A 
great stone lay against the opening, so as to shut it 
up close. 



I2 s A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

When Jesus saw the grave of his friend, he again 
gave a deep sigh. 

He said to the people round him, Take away 
that stone. 

Martha said, Lord, he has been dead four days, 
so by this time his body has begun to decay away 
and smell badly. 

Jesus said, Did I not tell you, that if you believed 
you should see the wonderful power of God ? 

Then they took away the stone from the grave, 
and Jesus looked in and saw the body of Lazarus 
lying dead. 

Jesus prayed to his Father in heaven; he said, 
Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me, and I 
know that thou hearest me always, but for the sake 
of the crowd that stand by I speak, that they may 
believe that thou hast sent me. 

When Jesus had finished, all the people stood by, 
wondering what he would do next; and Martha 
and Mary hoped he would make Lazarus alive again. 

Then Jesus cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, 
come forth. 

The dead man heard the voice of him who is 
"the Resurrection and the Life." The grave can- 
not hold the dead against the command of the 
Prince of Life; for Life is stronger than Death. 

Lazarus came forth, bound hand and foot with 
grave clothes wrapped around him. 

Jesus said, Loosen the clothes, and take the cloth 
from his face, and let him go home. 

Oh, how pleased Martha and Mar)' - must have 
been to have the brother they loved so dearly back 
again 1 



124 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



Yes, Jesus had not disappointed them. He had 
kept his word; the sickness did not end in death, for 
Lazarus was alive and well. 

Every one who saw this miracle was astonished, 
and many believed that Jesus was the Son of God ; but 
some of the ill-natured ones went to the Pharisees, 
who were the enemies of Jesus, and told them of 
this new and greatest wonder that Jesus had done. 
What came of their telling these things to the 
Pharisees you shall now hear. 

When Lazarus was raised from the dead, some 
Jews went to the Pharisees at Jerusalem, and told 
them that this wonder of bringing a man back to 
life after he had been dead four days, had led many 
to believe on Jesus as the Son of God. 

The Chief Priests, and Scribes, and Pharisees, 
then held a meeting or council together, to talk over 
what they should do to Jesus. They said, We must 
not let him go on working wonders, or else every 
one will think he is the Saviour, and will come and 
make him king; then the Romans will be angry, 
and fight us, and kill us all. 

The High Priest Caiaphas said, It is at any rate 
better that one should die for all, than that all the 
nation should perish. 

Yes, they said, we must try to seize Jesus, and 
when we have taken him, we will find some excuse 
or other for having him put to death. 

They then said that if anybody knew where Jesus 
was, he must come and tell them, that they might 
take him. 

The feast of the Passover would soon be held at 
Jerusalem, and as the Jews from all parts of the 



A CHILD S LIFE OF CHRIST 12 ^ 

country came to it, so they hoped to catch him then. 
They looked for Jesus everywhere, but they could 
not find him. Do you think he will come to the 
feast? Do you think he will be afraid, and stay 
away? 

These were the questions that they asked one 
another, as they met in the temple and in the streets 
of Jerusalem. 

Where do you think Jesus went after he raised 
Lazarus from the grave ? He did not stay at 
Bethany, for that was too close to Jerusalem. He 
went to Kphraim, which was a very quiet village in 
the desert of Judea, and several miles north of Jeru- 
salem. There he was not known, and there for a 
short time he could talk with his disciples undis- 
turbed. 

He wanted to prepare them for his death, which 
was so soon to take place at Jerusalem. 

He said, The Chief Priests, and Scribes, and 
Pharisees will take me, and they will say I must 
die. They will then give me up to the Romans, 
who will put me to death. They will laugh at me, 
and mock me, and spit on me, and whip me, and at 
last they will kill me; but I shall rise from my 
grave after I have been dead three days. 

The disciples did not like to hear of all these sad 
troubles happening to their Master. They were very 
much astonished that he should talk so, and they 
were frightened. 

They did not understand how it could be; but 
Jesus told them that if they would but look at what 
their own Prophets had written in their Scriptures, 
they would see that the Saviour would have to suffer 



I2 6 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

and die. However, they did not yet understand. 
After all these things had taken place, then they 
understood. 

Jesus could not stay long at Ephraim. 

He went from thence to Jericho, which place was 
about six hours' walk from Jerusalem. At this 
place he could meet the people who were coming 
from his own country Galilee, as they, too, were on 
their way to the feast at Jerusalem. 

Just as Jesus came to Jericho, he met a large 
traveling party from Galilee. The people knew 
him at once, and remembered all the mighty works 
he had done while he lived among them. They be- 
gan to praise him and honor him as he joined their 
company. 

When they came to the gate of the town, they 
saw a poor blind man named Bartimeus sitting 
there, and begging of all those who came in and 
out of the town. 

Bartimeus heard the noise, as it were of a great 
crowd coming along the road. 

What is the meaning of all the noise I hear ? he 
asked of some one near him. 

Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth, is coining along 
this way, and a great many people are with him, 
crying after him. 

The poor blind man thought, Jesus of Nazareth ! 
Why he is the very person I wanted to meet; they 
say he cures blind people, I hope he will cure me. 

So he cried very loudly, Jesus, thou son of David, 
have mercy on me. 

Hush, said the people, don't make such a noise, 
you will disturb the Saviour; it is not likely that 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



127 



he will stop this procession, just to attend to a pooi 
blind beggar like you. 

But I want to be cured of my blindness, and now 
is the time. So he cried yet louder, Jesus, have 
pity on me. 

Then Jesus heard his cry of distress, and he stood 
still. Bring that poor man to me, he wants me to 
do something for him. 

The people knew that he never raised a hope to 
disappoint it, that he never called any one to come 
to him unless he meant to help him. They said to 
the poor man, Be glad, arise, and go to Jesus, he 
calls you to him. 

Then the blind man, in his haste to go to the 
Saviour, threw down his cloak and went. 

Jesus said, What is it that you want me to do for you? 

Lord, that I may have my sight. 

Jesus said, You shall see, because you believed I 
could cure you, I will give you your sight. 

Directly Jesus spoke these words, he opened his 
eyes, and he could then see. 

Full of thankfulness, he joined the crowd which 
followed Jesus, shouting his praises. 

Jesus did not go on to Jerusalem with this large 
traveling party. Just outside the town of Jericho 
lived a man named Zaccheus. He was a tax- 
gatherer and a rich man. He was short, and as he 
wanted to see Jesus, whom all the people were 
praising, and of whom he had heard so much, he 
climbed into a sycamore-tree. 

Now, he thought, I shall be above the people, 
and I shall get a good sight of the procession as it 
passes along the road. 



128 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

Jesus, as he went by, saw Zaccheus up in the tree, 
so he said to him, Zaccheus, make haste and come 
down, for I am going to stay in your house to-day. 

Then was Zaccheus very glad indeed. He made 
haste down from the tree, that he might take Jesus 
home with him. 

When the multitude saw this, they were very 
much surprised, and said, It is a strange thing that 
the Son of God should go and lodge at the house of 
a man who does not bear a good character. 

The heart of Zaccheus was full of love to him 
who had so honored him. He showed his love, by 
his sorrow for his past sins. Perhaps he had not 
been kind to the poor; now he said he would give 
away half his money to the poor. Perhaps he had 
taken from people more money than he ought to 
have done for the taxes; so he said, If I have 
wronged any one, I will give him back four times 
as much as I have wrongfully taken from him. 

Jesus was very glad to see him repent of his sins, 
and begin to do right, and he said that he was one 
of those to whom his salvation had come. 

Then he told the multitude who were displeased 
with him because he went to the house of a sinful 
man, that he came into the world on purpose to seek 
and to save that which was lost. The worse a man 
was, the more he needed some one to bring him 
back, like a lost sheep, to the fold. 

When Jesus left Jericho, he went to Bethany. It 
was on a Friday that he went; the very next Friday 
after that, he was crucified. 

The Jewish Sabbath as you know, is not on our 
Sunday, but on our Saturday; it begins after sunset 



a 
o 

po 

o 
S 

H 

HI 

w 

H 

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w 
w 




I3 o A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

on Friday and ends at sunset on Saturday. This 
last Jewish Sabbath before the death of Jesus was 
spent by him with his friends at Bethany. 

A man named Simon invited Jesus to come and 
eat his Sabbath meal with him. Lazarus, whom he had 
raised from the dead, was invited too, and the busy 
Martha waited upon Jesus while he sat at meat. 

Mary was also there. She had brought with her 
a box of very precious ointment as a present for 
Jesus. With this she rubbed his feet — those feet 
which were so often tired, as he went about doing 
good and pleasing not himself; and with the hair 
of her head she lovingly wiped them. Very fragrant 
was the scent of this sweet ointment; as Mary broke 
the seal of the box to pour it out, the whole house 
was filled with its delicious odor. But sweeter far to 
Jesus was the love which led her to make this offering. 

It cost much money, but Mary thought nothing was 
too good or too costly for Jesus. She was glad to show 
her love by giving him the very best of what she had. 

Then said one of the disciples, Judas Iscariot, It 
was very wasteful of you, Alary, to spend so much 
money for such a little use; you had better have 
sold the ointment, and given the money to the poor. 

Did Judas care for the poor ? No, he kept the bag 
in which the money for the poor was put, and he 
was a thief, and stole some of the money that was in 
it. He thought, If all the money that the ointment 
was worth had been put into the bag, I could have 
taken some for myself without its being missed. 

Jesus said to Judas, Do not blame Mary, she has 
not been wasteful. This was a gift of love, and love 
is not to be measured by money. 




IV, 



132 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



There will always be poor people in the world for 
whom you can care, and you can do them good 
whenever you please. You will not have me with 
you long, for the day of my death is near, and Mary 
knows this. 

As soon as ever the sun had set on this Jewish 
Sabbath evening, numbers of Jews came from the 
city of Jerusalem to see Jesus and to see Lazarus. 
These Jews had come from all parts of the country, 
by thousands, to eat the feast of the Passover at 
Jerusalem during the coming week. They had 
heard, when they reached Jerusalem, of the wonder- 
ful miracle Jesus had done in raising Lazarus from 
the grave, so they walked to Bethany to see Lazarus 
for themselves. Then many of them believed that 
Jesus was the Son of God. 

This made the Chief Priests and Pharisees still 
more angry, and they said, We must put Lazarus to 
death as well as Jesus, because by reason of him 
many Jews go away and believe in Jesus. 



CHAPTER XIII 

CHRIST'S TRIUMPHANT ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM — 
HE TEACHES IN THE TEMPLE — THE TRIBUTE- 
MONEY — JUDAS SELLS HIS MASTER. 

ON the next day, which was the first day of the 
week, Jesus went from Bethany to Jerusalem, 
with his disciples and a large number of 
people. 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



*33 



As he was going along the road, he said to two of 
his disciples, Go into the village close by, and you 
will see an ass and her young one tied up. Untie 
them and bring them to me. 

If the man to whom they belong asks you what 
you are doing, say to him, The Lord wants them. 
Then he will let you bring them. 

The two disciples went and found all as Jesus had 
said, so they untied the ass and brought it to him. 

Some of the multitude now threw their cloaks 
upon the ass, and Jesus sat thereon; and they all 
shouted his praises. 

As soon as it was known in Jerusalem that Jesus 
was on his way to the city, great numbers of people 
came out to meet him with branches of the palm- 
tree, which they waved about as they rejoiced. 
Others took off their cloaks and laid them on the 
ground, so as to make a carpet for Jesus to ride 
upon. 

Then the multitude again praised God with a 
loud voice, for all the wonders they had seen Jesus 
do, and said, It is true that he has raised Lazarus 
from the tomb. 

They cried, Blessed be the King that cometh in 
the name of the Lord, peace in Heaven, and glory in 
the highest. 

There were some Pharisees in the crowd, and they 
said to Jesus, Teacher, why do you not rebuke your 
disciples for crying out so ? 

Jesus told them that the coming of the Mes- 
siah was so great an event, that should the multi- 
tude remain quiet, God would give even the stones 
a voice to rejoice at his approach. Yes, it was 



I3 4 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

enough to make the very dullest shout and be glad. 

Now Jesus was within sight of Jerusalem. He 
could see its towers glittering in the sunlight. 
There was the well-known temple of God, and the 
various buildings of which every Jew was so proud. 
As he drew near to the city, tears of pity filled his 
eyes. 

Why did Jesus weep? He saw the vast crowd 
around him, and heard the multitude cry, as with 
the voice of one man, Behold the King of Israel. 
He knew that in a few days this same crowd would 
shout, Crucify him, crucify him. It was not for 
himself, however, that he wept. He wept over the 
sin of the people in refusing to have him as their 
Saviour. He wept to think of the heavy woes which 
were so soon to come upon this very city, as a 
punishment for its great wickedness. 

At length Jesus came through the city gate, and 
rode into the streets of Jerusalem. Every one 
came out of his house to see the throng and to ask 
who it is that the multitude is praising. 

It is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth, people cried. 

Jesus then went into the temple, and the blind 
and the lame came to him to be cured, and he made 
them quite well. 

The Chief Priests and the Scribes looked on, and 
were much displeased to see the wonders that Jesus 
did, and to hear the praises of the multitudes. 

Even the very children cried, Hosanna to the 
Son of David. 

Then the Chief Priests said to Jesus, Do you not 
hear what a noise these children make? Why do 
you not stop them ? 



» 

W 
H 



H 
O 




I3 6 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

I hear them, said Jesus. Have you read in the 
Psalms of David, that God has made praise to 
come out of the mouths of babes and sucklings? 

Jesus then left the temple, and when the evening 
came he went back to Bethany. 

Darker and deeper grew the hatred of the Scribes 
and Pharisees against Jesus. They had meant to 
have seized him when he came to Jerusalem, but 
now they did not dare to take him, for the whole 
city was calling him King. 

Vexed and disappointed, they said, We are no 
nearer getting him into our power than we were 
before; the whole world is gone after him. Then 
they thought among themselves how they should 
get him, and said, We must take him by deceit and 
cunning, if we cannot by force. We must not take 
him at the time of the feast of the Passover, lest 
there be an uproar among the people, and lest they 
try to get him away from us. We had better seize 
him before the feast, or afterwards; before will be 
best. We will watch him while he is teaching the 
people, and try to make him say something which 
will seem to be against our law, or against the 
Roman government. 

The next morning Jesus returned from Bethany, 
and went to the temple to teach the crowds who 
came to hear him. 

The Chief Priests and Pharisees were there, seek- 
ing how they might destroy him; but they could 
not do anything, for all the people hung round 
him to hear him, and listened with great attention. 

At evening time Jesus again went back to 
Bethany. 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST T yj 

The next morning Jesus returned to the temple 
at Jerusalem. At au early hour a large crowd 
had gathered there, waiting for his coming from 
Bethany; and there, too, like beasts of prey, were 
Christ's enemies, seeking how they might catch 
him. 

They sent spies to him, who pretended to be good 
men who really wanted Christ to teach them what 
was right. 

They asked him a question, which, in whatever 
way he answered it, they hoped would be sure to 
offend some of the parties at Jerusalem. They 
were very sly; they seemed to treat Christ with 
respect, for they dared not do otherwise when every 
one was looking on him as a prophet of God. 

They said to him, Teacher, we know that you say 
what is right, and are not afraid to speak the truth. 
Now tell us what you think. Ought we to give 
tribute to Caesar, or not ? 

Jesus knew that if he said, No, do not give this tax 
money to the Roman Emperor Caesar, that then the 
Romans would say that he was speaking against the 
government of the country, and they would then put 
him in prison for rebellion. If Jesus said, Yes, you 
ought to pay the tax, then the Jewish chiefs would 
be offended, and say that he was not a friend to 
their nation, because he taught the people to pay 
taxes to an Emperor who had conquered them, and 
whom they hated. 

Jesus saw through all their craft, and said, Why 
do you try to catch me in my words ? Show me 
the money that you pay for the tax. Then they 
brought him a Roman penny. 



!38 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

Jesus looked at the coin and said, Whose image is 
stamped upon this piece of money ? 

They said, It is the likeness of Caesar. 

Then Jesus said, Give to Caesar that which 
belongs to Caesar, and give to God the things that 
are God's. 

This wise and true answer could not give offence 
to any one. His enemies wondered exceedingly at 
it, and they held their tongues. 

Again and again one party or another came to 
him, to try to make him say something for which 
they 1 could blame him, but in vain. 

This was the last day that Jesus taught in public. 
This Tuesday evening he went to Bethany, and 
remained there quietly with his disciples until 
Thursday afternoon. 

Disappointed and angry, the enemies of Jesus 
again met in council. We will have his life, they 
said; how shall we take it? 

Just then Judas came to them. 

He said, So you want to get Jesus into your 
power? I will help you, but you must pay me for 
my trouble. 

Oh, yes, they said, we shall be very glad to give 
you money for helping us. 

Judas asked, How 7 much will you give me if I 
deliver him up to you ? 

They said, We will give you thirty pieces of 
silver. 

This was about the price of the meanest slave. 

Perhaps they offered this small sum in order to 
show how they hated and despised Jesus, by putting 
upon his life only the value of a slave's life. 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



1 39 



Judas said, I will take the money and betray 
Jesus. I kuow where he goes at night, and I will 
show you where he is when he is alone with his 
disciples. There will then be no crowd near to in- 
terfere, and you can take him away quite easily. 

It was on Wednesday evening that Judas left the 
council to seek for a convenient time to betray 
Jesus. This time soon came. 

The enemies of Christ said, Now he will soon be 
in our power, and then we will kill him ; and they 
rejoiced with a wicked joy. They were like Satan 
himself, for he is always glad at wickedness and 
sin. 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE FEAST OF THE PASSOVER — THE LAST SUPPER 
— HE COMFORTS HIS DISCIPLES. 

YOU have been told that this week the feast of 
the Passover was held at Jerusalem; and that 
many thousands of Jews had come up from 
all parts of the country to keep it. 

Do you know why this feast was held, and what 
the Passover meant? 

It was the chief of the Jewish feasts, and it was 
kept at Jerusalem every year, in remembrance of 
the deliverance of the Jews from the land of 
Egypt. 

About fifteen hundred years before this time, the 
Jews were slaves to the Egyptians, who treated 



I40 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

them very cruelly. God heard their cry of suffer- 
ing, and sent Moses to bring them out from the 
land of Egypt into Canaan, or Palestine. 

But Pharaoh, the Egyptian king, would not let 
them go; so God sent ten dreadful plagues upon 
the Egyptians. The last was the worst, and after 
that Pharaoh let the children of Israel go. 

This last plague was the death of the first-born. 
God said that he would send an angel to pass over 
all the land of Egypt to kill the first-born son in 
every house, from the kiugly house of Pharaoh, to 
the house of the poorest beggar. 

But God said, The angel shall not go into any of 
the houses of the Israelites or Jews; if there is the 
blood of a lamb sprinkled upon the door-posts, the 
angel shall pass over those houses. 

God also said, You must take a lamb for each 
family, it must be a lamb that has nothing the 
matter with it, it must have no disease. You must 
kill it and sprinkle the blood on your door-posts for 
the angel to see. Then you must roast it whole and 
eat it. If you cannot eat it all, then you must burn 
what is left with fire, and not leave any till morning. 
This was because meat in that hot country turns bad 
or corrupt in a very short time, and it was not fit 
that any part of a sacrifice to God, such as this lamb 
was, should become corrupt. 

They were to eat the lamb with bread made with- 
out yeast or leaven. It was called unleavened 
bread. Now leaven is a kind of corruption, and 
causes fermentation in the bread in which it is used. 
They were to eat bread made without yeast, to 
teach them to put away sin in their hearts, which 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



141 



is like leaven in corrupting and spreading through- 
out every part. 

They were to eat it also with bitter salad, or 
herbs, to remind them of the bitter and hard bond- 
age that they had suffered in Egypt. They were 
to eat it standing, with their shoes on their feet and 
their staff in their hands, so as to be quite ready to 
start at once for their journey that night from the 
land of Egypt. As they ate it they thanked God 
for sending his angel to pass over their houses, while 
he stopped at the houses of the Egyptians. 

This was the passover night. Every year after that, 
when the same day came round again, the Jews ate a 
meal in the same way to remind them of that night. 

The passover lamb was a type of Christ. Sin and 
Satan are worse taskmasters than the Egyptians 
ever were, and theirs is a harder service than that 
suffered by the Jews of old. 

Christ has come to set us free from their power. 
We deserve punishment for our many sins. Jesus 
gave himself up as a sacrifice for sin. He was with- 
out any fault or sin himself, and God will pass over 
our sins for the sake of Jesus, if we seek to be for- 
given through his death. So Jesus is called our 
Passover. 

Jesus was crucified on the day before the Passover 
was eaten that year; but he told his disciples that 
he should like to eat a Passover feast with them 
before he died. 

So on Thursday morning he sent John and Peter 
into Jerusalem to get the supper ready. 

To what house shall we go ? said they, for Jesus 
had no house of his own. 



I4 2 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

Jesus said. When you go into the city you will 
see a man with a jug of water in his hand; follow 
him. Notice the house where the man goes in, and 
then say to the master of that house, The Teacher 
says to you, Where is the guest chamber, that I 
may eat the passover with my disciples? He will 
show you a large upper room ready furnished, where 
you may make the supper ready. 

So Peter and John went to Jerusalem, and found 
all happen just as Jesus had said. 

They found the man with the jug of water, and 
they went to the master of the house where he 
stopped. He took them up-stairs and showed them 
a room with a table and couches, and all the cups 
and dishes that they wanted for the supper. 

Then Peter and John got some wine, and the 
bread without leaven, and the bitter herbs, and had 
the lamb killed all ready for the evening. 

When the evening came, Jesus and his disciples 
returned from Bethany, and went up into the room 
where the supper was to be held. 

Before they began to eat their supper, Jesus rose 
from his place at table, and took off his robe or 
upper coat, and tied a towel round his waist after 
the fashion of a servant. 

Then he took a jug and poured some water into a 
basin, and began to wash his disciples' feet, and to 
wipe them with the towel that was tied round his 
waist. 

This act of Jesus astonished the disciples very 
much. 

That their Divine Master, whom they loved and 
reverenced so greatly, should do for them such a 



144 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



lowly service, may well have surprised them. Still 
they held their tongues, and obeyed his wish by 
allowing him to wash their feet. All but Peter — he, 
with his usual hastiness, said, Lord, dost thou wash 
my feet? 

Jesus said, Yes, let me do it now, I will tell you 
the reason why by and by. 

But this did not satisfy Peter; he said, thou shalt 
never wash my feet. 

Jesus reproved his self-will by saying, If I do not 
wash your feet, you cannot be mine. 

This was to teach Peter that every true disciple 
must give up his own will entirely to Christ's will, 
and that it is Jesus who makes the heart clean. 

Peter was frightened at the idea of having no part 
in Christ, so he cried out, If it is so, Lord, wash not 
my feet alone, but also my hands and my head. 

No, replied Jesus, that would be too much. He 
that has bathed does not need to be washed again, 
excepting his feet. 

Christ meant that as Peter had, according to the 
usual custom, bathed before coming to the supper, 
he was clean, excepting the dust that had come 
upon his feet while walking along the road to the 
house. This dust was what Jesus removed in 
washing his feet. Then Peter let Jesus do what 
he wished. 

When Jesus had finished washing all the disciples' 
feet, he laid aside the towel, and put on his robe again. 

Now, he said, I will tell you why I have done 
this. You call me your Master and Lord, and so I 
am. If I, then, your Lord and Master, can do kind 
and lowly acts of service for you, then you ought to 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



145 



be willing to be kind and loving to one another. 
Be humble and do not think yourselves better than 
others. It is far better to wait upon and do good to 
others, than it is to be served yourselves. If ye 
know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. 

Jesus, having washed his disciples' feet, sat down 
with them to supper. 

As they were eating, Jesus talked to them. He 
seemed to be very sorry about something. 

What was it that troubled him so much ? Was it 
the thought of the cruel death he was about to die? 

No; it was because he was sorry that Judas was 
so wicked. He could hardly bear to think that any 
one who had been like a friend so long, should be so 
false as to be willing to give him up into the hands 
of his enemies. 

At last he said out aloud, One of you, my disci- 
ples, will betray me. 

Then they all looked at one another, for they 
could not understand what Jesus meant. Judas 
knew, for he was guilty, but the others did not 
know. They all felt very grieved, to think that 
any one of them could be so wicked, as to give up 
his dear Master to those who wished to put him to 
death. 

They wanted very much to know who it was that 
could do this wicked deed, but they did not like to 
ask Jesus. 

At last Peter whispered to John, Do you ask 
Jesus who it is. 

John was the best loved of all the disciples, and 
he was next to his Master at this supper. 

You must not suppose that people in those East' 



I4 6 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

era countries sat on chairs at their meals, as we do. 
No; they leaned on couches or sofas, which were 
placed round the table. They lay on one side, 
resting their left arm on the table, and their feet 
were turned out away from the table. Sometimes 
two, or even three people would lie upon one couch, 
and so the head of one came near to the bosom of 
him who was reclining above him on the same 
couch. It was John who was thus lying on Jesus' 
breast now. He liked to be close to one whom he 
loved so dearly, and he could speak many a loving 
word, as he lay thus in the bosom of his Master. 

When Peter told John to ask Jesus who it was 
that should betray him, John whispered to Jesus, 
Lord, who is it? 

Jesus whispered to John, It is he to whom I shall 
give the morsel of lamb, when I have dipped it in 
the sauce of bitter herbs. 

It was Judas' turn to have the next morsel from 
the hands of Jesus. Then John knew that it was 
Judas who would betray Christ. Judas had seen 
the whisperings, and his guilty conscience told him 
that his intended sin was found out. As the others 
seemed sorry, he pretended to be sorry too, and 
asked Jesus very softly, Master, is it I? 

Jesus answered, You have said rightly. 

As soon as he had eaten what Jesus gave him, 
Jesus said to him, Make haste, and do what you 
mean to do. 

Then Judas went away from the room out into 
the night. 

The disciples could not think what Jesus meant 
by what he said to Judas. They thought, as Judas 



I4 8 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

kept the purse, that Jesus told him to go and buy 
what they should want next day, or that he was to 
give some money to the poor. 

Judas knew that Jesus meant, As you have made 
up your mind to betray me, do so soon. 

Where did Judas go? 

He went to the Jewish Council, and said, Jesus is 
now at supper with his disciples in Jerusalem. He 
will soon go from thence to the Mount of Olives. 
There is a garden there to which he often goes. I 
know the place well, and I will show it to you by 
and by. 

Then were they very glad, and promised to send 
some of their servants, and some Roman soldiers, 
with Judas, to take him. 

As soon as Judas had left the room, Jesus said, I 
shall not be with you much longer. I shall want 
you to remember me when I am gone; I shall not 
like you to forget me. 

Jesus broke one of the thin cakes of passover 
bread into small pieces, and said, Look at this 
broken bread; my body will soon be broken on the 
cross for you : eat this, and think of me. Then he 
gave thanks, and passed the bread round to them, 
and they each ate one of the broken pieces. 

After that he poured out some red wine into a 
cup, and said, This wine is to remind you of my 
blood, which is so soon going to be spilt for you: 
drink it and think of me. 

This blood of mine is like a seal to a new agree- 
ment. Sacrifices need no more be offered, after my 
body is offered as a sacrifice for sin. The blood of 
no more lambs need be shed, after my blood is shed 



A CHILD 'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



149 



for man's sin. After I am gone, when you eat 
again of this bread and wine, be sure you think of 
me. Think of my love in dying for you, think how 
great must man's sin be to need such a sacrifice as 
life. 

This is the last meal that I shall eat with you. 
Be sure you love one another when I am gone away, 
even as I have loved you. 

Peter said, Lord, where are you going? 

Jesus answered, I am going where you cannot 
follow me; at least, not now. 

Peter said, Lord, why cannot I follow you? I am 
willing to die for you. 

Jesus said, All of you will forsake me; this very 
night you will be afraid, and run away, and leave 
me alone with my enemies. 

Then Peter began to boast, and said, I am sure I 
shall not leave you, even if all the others do. I will 
lay down my life for your sake. 

Jesus gently said, Will you lay down your life for 
my sake ? O Peter, Peter, before the cock crows to- 
morrow morning, you will have said three times 
that you do not even know me. 

Peter said, again and again, that he was quite 
sure that Jesus was mistaken. So, too, all the 
disciples said. 

We shall soon see whether Jesus did not know 
best. 

Jesus then began to comfort his disciples. He 
said, Do not be troubled because I go away from 
you. I shall go back to my Father's house, and it 
shall be your house too. I will get a place there 
ready for you. I know you will like to be where I 



I5 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

am, and so you shall be. I myself will come for 
you. Trust in me. While I have been with you 
here, you have been used to ask me for what you 
wanted. You may still ask me, pray to me for any- 
thing when I am gone away from you. 

Be sure to do as I tell you, for if you love me, 
you will keep my commandments. 

I shall be very near to those who obey me, and 
my Father will be near too; as close as if we lived 
in the same house with them. 

My Father will send the Holy Spirit to you when 
I am gone, and he will teach you many things that 
you do not understand now; and after I am dead, he 
will help you to remember what I have taught you 
while I was with you. 

Then Jesus gave them his blessing; he said, My 
peace I give to you; not such as the world gives, 
give I to you. It is a real, true peace, that the 
world knows nothing about; I only give it to my 
disciples. 

Jesus then said, Let us rise from the supper table, 
and go away from this house; but he could not leave 
off talking to and comforting his disciples. How 
very great was his love and care for others, if he 
could at such a time forget his own greater sorrow, 
in the grief that he knew his disciples would feel, 
when they found their Master roughly taken from 
them. He prayed a last prayer with them, and for 
them ; a beautiful prayer, in which he most lovingly 
committed them to the care of his Heavenly Father. 
They then sung a hymn, and went to the Mount of 
Olives. 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST jjj- 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE AGONY IN GETHSEMANK — BETRAYED BY JUDAS 
— JESUS CARRIED BEFORE THE HIGH PRIEST — 
DENIAL OF PETER. 

AT the bottom, of the Mount of Olives was a 
^ garden; it was called Gethsemane. The 
name means an oil-press; for most likely near 
there the oil was pressed out of the olives, ready 
for use. 

The garden itself probably consisted of a grove 
of olive-trees; and in that grove, among those large 
trees, Jesus could pass many quiet hours unnoticed. 

The olive lives to be very old. Some of the 
trees, which were standing when Jesus was alive, 
are there now, and are thought to be more than 
two thousand years old. Would you not like to see 
them? 

When Jesus reached the garden, after his last 
supper with his disciples, it was about midnight. 
The full moon was shining brightly but softly, and 
the big trees threw large dark shadows across the 
path. 

There were many quiet spots for prayer in this 
garden; that was one reason why Jesus chose to go 
to it so often. 

Now this is his last visit to it, for his work on 
earth is nearly done. He began this work by going 
alone into the wilderness to pray; he prepares him- 
self for its end by prayer too. 

Jesus said to his disciples, I am going to pray; I 



152 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIS! 



wish you to stay here, while I go a little farther 
into the garden. Peter, James, and John, you three 
may come with me. 

They went a little farther in, and Jesus said to 
them, I feel full of the greatest sorrow, it is like a 
heavy weight, that almost crushes me to death. I 
am going to pray, I want you to pray too. Then 
Jesus went a little way from them, and kneeled 
down under the shadow of an olive-tree and 
prayed. 

Great and bitter was the sorrow that filled his 
soul. He grieved over the rage of his enemies, and 
over the blindness of the people, who would not 
see in him their Saviour. He also shrank at the 
thought of his coming death. Death came into 
the world through sin. Sin was the cause of all 
the suffering in the world, and he was now about to 
feel the punishment of sin for man's sake. The 
reason of the great agony of Christ, no sinful man 
can understand. Because Jesus was holy, he felt, 
as none of us can feef, the exceeding sinfulness of 
sin. 

This was the chief cause of his present anguish 
of spirit. He was now suffering for the world, and 
the burden seemed heavier than he could bear. It 
was like a bitter drink that he did not know how 
to take. 

He prayed, Oh, my Father, thou canst do all 
things; take away this cup from me; but if man- 
kind can be saved in no other way than by my 
drinking it, I will drink it all. Let it be as thou 
wilt, not as 1 will. 

Jesus then went to look at the three disciples; 



154 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



they were not praying — they were not even awake 
— no, they were fast asleep. 

Jesus was grieved that they showed so little feel- 
ing for him in his time of trouble. He remem- 
bered Peter's boasting and said to him, What ! 
could you not watch with me one hour ? 

He told them all to keep awake and pray. Then 
he went away the second time and prayed again, 
Oh, my Father, if this cup may not pass from me 
except I drink it, thy will be done. 

Again Jesus returned to the three disciples, and 
again they were fast asleep. 

He left them and went back to his place of 
prayer, and kneeling down he prayed yet more 
earnestly in the same words as before. 

The conflict was over; that sharp season of trial 
in which his sweat was as drops of blood falling to 
the ground. An angel from heaven came to com- 
fort and strengthen him. He was now quite ready 
to offer himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the 
world. He knew that this was the will of God — 
the true end of the work that he came to do. 

Jesus now returned to Peter, James, and John, and 
found them asleep again. He said, you may sleep 
on now; I will wake you no more to watch and 
pray with me. Soon, however, your sleep will be 
rudely broken, for my enemies are near. Already 
they are coming; arise, let us go hence. 

A number of people now entered the garden. 
They were the servants of the Jewish council, with 
some Roman soldiers, and Judas was among them. 
The soldiers had swords, and the other men had 
heavy sticks. They had lanterns and torches, to 



I5 6 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

look into the caves and corners, lest Jesus should 
hide himself in them. They did not want them, 
though; for it was quite light with the full moon, 
and Jesus would not run away and hide himself. 

Judas had said to the men beforehand, Whoever I 
kiss, he is the person that you are to take; hold 
him fast. 

Then he went up to Jesus and kissed him, and 
said, Hail, Master ! 

Jesus said, Why have you come here? 

He then went forward up to the men and did not 
wait for them to find hiin out. 

He said, Who is it that you want ? 

Jesus of Nazareth, they replied. 

Jesus said, I am he. 

As soon as he had' said this, the men went back 
and fell to the ground, struck by his calm, majestic 
look. The servants of the Jewish council must 
have known that he was a prophet, and the doer of 
many wonderful works; hence their fear. 

Again Jesus asked, Whom seek ye ? 

Again they answered, Jesus of Nazareth. 

I have told you before that I am he. I will go 
with you, but I command you to let my disciples go 
away. 

How thoughtful and unselfish was the love of 
Jesus, to care for the safety of his disciples in that 
time of danger to himself. 

They began to bind him, but they did not dare 
to touch the disciples. Hasty Peter drew a sword, 
intending to cut through the head of Malchus, who 
was the High Priest's servant, but the sword slipped, 
so he only cut off his ear. Jesus at once touched 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST I5 7 

his ear and made it quite well. It was the ear of 
a man who was an enemy that Jesus healed. He 
forgave injuries, he did not revenge them. 

He turned to Peter and said, Put away your 
sword. These men could not take me if I did not 
willingly give myself up to them. If I were to 
ask my Father, he would at once give me, instead 
of you twelve apostles, more than twelve legions 
of angels.* 

But if I were to do so, how would the old writ- 
ings come true, which say I am to suffer and die ? 
It is my Father's wish, and my own wish too, to 
give myself up now. 

While the men were binding Jesus fast, He said, 
Why do you come with swords to take me, as if I 
were a thief? When I was with you teaching in 
the temple, you did not try to take me. You 
thought the people would not let you have me, but 
that you would be sure of me if you came when I 
was alone. But you could not take me even now, 
had the time not come when God allowed you 
to do so. 

Then all the disciples, when they saw Jesus thus 
in the hands of his enemies, were afraid and ran 
away, and left him quite alone. All, even boasting 
Peter, fled. 

The soldiers led Jesus away to the house of the 
High Priest. 

Peter soon followed, for he wanted to see what 
the wicked men would do to Jesus. Another disci- 
ple was with him, and this disciple was known to 

* A Roman legion was composed of six thousand men. 



I5 8 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

the High Priest. He spoke to the womau who kept 
the door of the High Priest's house, and said, Let 
this friend of mine come into the house with me. 

So Peter went into the hall. This was a square 
yard or court, and the rooms of the house were 
built on the sides of the open space. 

The night was cold, so the servants made a fire in 
the hall or court-yard, and Peter went to the fire to 
warm himself. 

Presently the woman who kept the door came to 
the fire too. She looked very hard at Peter, and 
said, Why, you are one of the disciples of Jesus of 
Galilee ! 

Peter was frightened; he did not want any one to 
know that he belonged to Jesus, lest they should 
kill him too. So he said before all the servants, 
No, I am not; I do not even know the man about 
whom you spoke. 

Peter did not like to stay by the fire any longer; 
he went into the passage between the court-yard and 
the street-door. Then, after a little while, some 
one else saw him, and said, Surely, you are one of 
the disciples of Jesus? 

No, said Peter, you are mistaken ; I am not. 

Peter went again into the hall, and about an hour 
afterwards some one said, It is quite certain that 
you are one of this man's disciples. You talk like 
a man from Galilee ; your speech is not like that of 
the men of Jerusalem. 

Then one of the servants of the High Priest, who 
was a relation of the man whose ear Peter had cut 
off, said, Did I not see you in the garden with Jesus ? 
Yes, I am sure I did, 



w 
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o 

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a 




!6o A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

Peter was now more frightened than ever. He 
began to curse and swear, and say, I don't know 
what you mean; I know nothing about the man. 

This was the third time that Peter had denied 
that he knew Jesus, and directly afterwards he heard 
a cock crow. 

Then Peter remembered how he had boasted to 
his Master that he loved him so dearly that he 
would die for him. He remembered, too, how 
Jesus had said that before the cock crew he would 
have said three times that he did not even know him. 

The door of the room where Jesus stood bound 
was open, and Peter turned to look at him. Jesus 
had heard the cock crow too, and he turned and 
looked at Peter. 

It was such a look. It was so full of sorrowing love 
that Peter could not bear it. He went out of the 
hall directly, aud began to cry, as if his heart would 
break. He really did love Jesus, and he felt so 
sorry that, out of fear for himself, he had said that 
he did not even know him. 

Peter showed that his sorrow was real, for he was 
never afraid to speak the truth after that. He 
always owned that he knew and loved Jesus; and 
many years afterwards, he was willing to die for 
Christ rather than give up preaching about him. 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST j6i 



CHAPTER XVII 

JESUS DELIVERED OVER TO PILATE — THE TRIAL 
BEFORE PILATE — HE SENDS HIM TO HEROD — 
HEROD INSULTS HIM AND SENDS HIM BACK TO 
PILATE— JESUS AND B ARAB B AS— JESUS SCOURGED 
— THE DEATH OF JUDAS. 

AS it was in the middle of the night that Jesus 
was taken prisoner, they could not bring him 
before the Jewish council until the early 
morning. 

The High Priest, however, during the night 
asked him many questions about his disciples, and 
about his teachings. 

Jesus said, You might have known if you had 
come to listen to me when I taught in the Jewish 
places of worship, and in the temple, where all the 
Jews came to hear. Why do you ask me if I have 
said anything wrong ? Ask those who have heard 
me whether I have said anything contrary to the 
*ruth. 

Then one of the officers hit Jesus on the face, and 
said, Don't speak so to the High Priest. 

Jesus quietly said, If I have spoken what was 
wrong, prove it; if not, you should not smite me. 

As soon as ever it was day, the Chief Priests, and 
Scribes, and Pharisees met together in council, and 
brought Jesus before them, to ask him questions be- 
fore they condemned him to death. 

Many wicked men came forward to say that they 
had heard Jesus teach what was wrong. One, how- 



!62 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

ever, said one thing, and another something else, so 
they contradicted each other, and their witness 
against Jesus was of no use. 

Jesus stood quite still. When he heard all these 
things said of him, he did not get angry and say, 
You are telling untruths about me. 

Then the High Priest stood up in the midst of the 
council, and said to Jesus, Do you hear what these 
men say about you? Why do you not tell us 
whether they are speaking truth or falsehood ? But 
Jesus held his tongue and answered nothing. 

The High Priest then said, I command you, in the 
name of the living God, to tell us whether you are 
or are not the Son of God. 

Then Jesus said, If I say I am, it is of no use; you 
know you do not mean to let me go free again. 
Soon, however, you will see me prove that I am the 
Son of God, for my kingdom will spread, and you 
connot hinder it. 

All of them said to him, Then you really mean to 
say that you are the Son of God ? 

I do, said Jesus, it is quite true. 

The High Priest rent his robes, to show his great 
horror that Jesus should have spoken what he called 
blasphemy. To blaspheme is to speak irreverently 
of God, and they thought that Jesus, whom they 
looked upon as only a poor man, did not speak of God 
with reverence when he said that he was God's Son. 

They said, We need not call any more witnesses 
to tell us whether they have heard him teach wrong 
things, for we have heard him ourselves speak 
against God, and pretended to be his Son. He 
teaches falsely, and he must be put to death. 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST ^ 

The Jews, as I told you before, were conquered by 
the Romans, who did not allow them to put any one 
to death without their leave. 

Less punishment than death the Jews might give 
themselves, but they did not want to send Jesus to 
prison, nor to scourge him; they wanted him to be 
put to death. 

They said, We must take him to the Roman Gov- 
ernor Pilate: what shall we tell him is his fault? 
Pilate will never put him to death because he says 
that he is the Son of God — for Pilate is a heathen, 
and does not care anything about our God. We must 
find out something else to say against him. They 
thought a little while, and then they said, We will 
tell Pilate that he pretends to be a king, that he tells 
the people not to pay taxes to the Roman govern- 
ment, and that he goes about from one part of the 
country to another teaching the people to rebel 
against the emperor. Pilate will listen to this 
story against the government, though he will not 
care about false religious teaching. As soon as 
Pilate goes into the judgment-hall in the morning 
we will take Jesus to him. 

While they were thus talking, they gave up Jesus 
to their servants, who ill-treated him. 

They covered over his eyes, so that he could not 
see; then they hit him, and said, You pretend to be 
the Son of God, and to know all things; if this is 
true, you can tell us who it is that hits you, though 
you cannot see. 

But Jesus was calm and gentle, and spoke not a 
single word. They spat upon his face, they beat 
him about, they laughed at him, and looked at him 



X 64 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

with eyes full of hatred. They were like wild 
beasts; but Jesus was quiet as a lamb. 

You children, who will not bear one angry word 
from your companions, learn of Jesus to be patient 
and forgiving under injury. 

" The Saviour answer'd not again, 
Nor spoke an angry word 
To all the scoffs of wicked men, 
Although he was their Lord." 

The Chief Priests, and Scribes, and Pharisees, 
now led Jesus to the judgment-hall to Pilate, that 
he might try Jesus as a prisoner, and condemn him 
to death. 

They would not go into the hall themselves, but 
stood outside. They wanted to eat the Passover 
that evening, and they said that they should not be 
able to do so, as they would be defiled if they 
entered the house of a heathen. Just as if their 
evil passions of hatred and anger did not make 
them more unclean, and unfit for this religious ser- 
vice, than going into the house of a Roman and a 
heathen would do. 

Pilate, therefore went outside the hall to speak to 
the Jewish council. He said to them, Why have 
you brought this man Jesus to me? 

They answered, Should we have brought him to 
you, if he were not an evil-doer? 

Pilate said, I have not heard of any disturbance 
of the public peace caused by him; I expect that 
you do not like him, and have brought him here be- 
cause you cannot agree with him on some point of 
your religiou. You had better settle this matter 



x 66 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

among- yourselves, so take him and judge him ac- 
cording to your own laws. 

This, however, did not suit the Jewish council. 
They replied, The emperor will not let us put any 
one to death without your leave, and we want to 
have this man punished by death. 

Pilate then went back again into the judgment- 
hall, and called Jesus to him to question him again. 
Are you the king of the Jews ? 

Jesus answered, Do you ask me because you 
yourself think that I am, or because my enemies tell 
you that I am ? 

Pilate said, I only repeat what your own nation 
have said to me. What have you done to make 
them say so ? 

Jesus answered, I am a king, but not in the sense 
in which you, a Roman, will understand me. My 
kingdom will not interfere with the kings of earth. 
If my kingdom were of this world, then my ser- 
vants would fight for me, as do the soldiers of 
earthly kings for them; and then the Jews would 
not have been able to take me and bring me before 
you. 

Then you mean to say that you are a king ? said 
Pilate. 

Yes, Jesus replied, I was born into the world that 
I might set up a kingdom in the souls of men. All 
that love truth, obey my laws and mind my teaching. 

Love truth ! cried Pilate; what is truth? Is there 
such a thing? 

But Pilate did not wait for an answer. He was 
a wicked man, and cared only for the things of this 
world, such as riches, and ease, and fame. He cared 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST jfy 

nothing for the world to come — the world we cannot 
see — nor for truth, and holiness, and God. 

He did not care to hear what truth was, but went 
outside the hall to the Jewish council. He thought 
that Jesus was a very harmless man, with some 
strange notions on religion, but not guilty of trying 
to set up a kingdom to overthrow the Roman 
government. He therefore said, I can find no fault 
with this man Jesus. 

Then they all cried out fiercely, some one thing 
and some another, but all speaking against Jesus. 

Pilate turned to Jesus and said, Do you hear all 
these things that the people cry out against you? 
What answer can you give to their charges ? 

But Jesus never spoke a word, so that Pilate 
wondered exceedingly. 

Then they cried out again, He misleads the 
people from Galilee to Judea. 

Galilee, did you say ? asked Pilate. 

Yes, they said, he was brought up at Nazareth in 
Lower Galilee. 

Then he belongs to a place of which Herod is the 
governor; I will send Jesus to him. 

So Pilate sent Jesus to Herod, who was now come 
up to Jerusalem to attend the Passover. 

Herod had long wanted to see Jesus, and he was 
very glad that Pilate had sent him. He had heard 
so much of the wonders that Jesus had done while 
he lived in Galilee, that he was very curious to see 
him work some miracle now. 

But it was no part of the Saviour's work to satisfy 
a vain curiosity. 

Herod did not want to learn the truth when he 



T 68 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

asked Jesus about his teaching, so he answered none 
of his idle questions. 

The Chief Priests and Scribes had followed Jesus 
to Herod, and began loudly to complain of him. 

What a difference between all their angry noise 
and the Saviour's calmness ! 

Herod was vexed with Jesus, because he would 
not work a wonder just to please him, nor answer 
any of his idle questions; so he and his soldiers be- 
gan to mock him. They threw a beautiful white 
robe over him, such as the Jewish kings wore, and 
laughed at him, and said, Are ^/^aking? Thus 
robed, Herod sent him back to Pilate. 

When Pilate saw Jesus brought back from Herod, 
he called together the Jewish council and said, You 
have brought this man to me as a person who mis- 
leads the people. I have questioned him, but I can 
find no fault in him with regard to those things for 
which you blame him. I have sent him to Herod, 
as you know, and he says, too, that he can see no 
reason why Jesus should be put to death. 

I will therefore have him whipped, and let go. 

You know that I always release a prisoner to you 
in honor of the feast of the Passover. 

Yes, they replied, do so now, according to custom. 

I will, said Pilate; you know that there is a man, 
named Barabbas, now in prison for robbery and 
murder. Choose, then, whom I shall let go free, 
Barabbas, or he who is called your king? 

The Chief Priests had told the multitude to ask 
for Barabbas, so the vast crowd cried, as with the 
voice of one man, Away with this Jesus, and set 
Barabbas free ! 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST T 6g 

Pilate was a Roman judge, he knew that it was 
his duty to punish the guilty and set free the inno- 
cent. So he ought to have done what he knew to 
be right, and let Jesus go instead of listening to his 
enemies. He had a great many soldiers, who could 
soon have sent all these wicked people away. Pilate 
thought, If I do not please them, they will write to 
the Roman emperor, and tell him of the many cruel 
things I have done to them, and then perhaps 
Caesar will not let me be governor any longer, and 
perhaps he will kill me. Pilate was afraid to do 
right, and this wicked fear led him to the great 
crime of allowing the Saviour to be put to death. 

Pilate spoke again to the people, This man is inno- 
cent, but Barabbas is guilty, let Jesus go free. 

The only reply was, Crucify him, crucify him! 

For the third time Pilate said, I have found no 
reason why he should be crucified, but I will have 
him whipped. 

That will not do, they cried. He is a false 
prophet, he has deceived us, he must be crucified. 

Pilate found that all he said was useless, for the 
crowd became more and more noisy. 

Then he called for some water, and washed his 
hands before them all, and said, I wash my hands, 
to show you that I am innocent of the blood of 
this good man. If you will have him put to death, 
the fault is yours. 

Then all the people said, If we put him to death 
as an innocent man, let us and let our children bear 
the blame. We will answer for his blood. 

What an awful speech ! Not many years after 
they had crucified the Saviour, the Roman soldiers 



I70 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

came and pulled down all the houses and streets of 
Jerusalem, and put many thousands of Jews to 
death by crucifixion. The Jews ever since then 
have had no home in their own land, but have 
wandered about living in strange countries. 

Pilate now gave Jesus to the soldiers that they 
might scourge him. They took him away into the 
common hall, and the whole band came together to 
see him scourged, and to mock him. They took 
off his robes, so as to lay bare his back, and 
whipped him with ropes tied in knots, till the blood 
ran down, and his back was dreadfully cut and sore. 

Then they put on him a cloak of purple or red, 
of the same color as the robes of the Roman 
emperor. They then said, Our king must have a 
crown, so they twisted a thorny plant into a wreath, 
and put it on his head. 

Our king must have a sceptre, said they, mock- 
ingly; so they took a reed, and put it in his hands. 
Then they bowed the knee before him, and said 
with rude laughter, O king of the Jews. 

They mocked him, they beat him with their 
hands, they spat upon his face, and took the sceptre 
out of his hands to hit him on the head. 

It is bad to have to bear pain, even when loving 
friends speak kindly to us, and do all they can to 
make us well; but our Saviour was rudely laughed 
at by cruel enemies while he suffered this fearful, 
bloody scourging. 

It was for us he bore it all; by his stripes we are 
healed. 

Pilate now went out to the people, and said, I 
will bring Jesus to you again, 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST jji 

Then he brought out Jesus, all bleeding as he 
was, dressed out with the purple cloak and crowned 
with thorns. 

Behold the man, he cried; can you believe that 
he would wish to make himself king ? 

Pilate hoped they would be sorry when they saw 
him looking so sad, with all the cruel marks of the 
ill-treatment of the soldiers. But, no, they had no 
pity. Jesus had pity for every one, but no one had 
pity on him. 

They cried out fiercely, Crucify him, crucify 
him ! 

You must crucify him yourselves, then, said 
Pilate, for I see no reason why I should do so. 

The Jews replied, The emperor wishes you to 
govern us by our own laws, and by our own laws 
he ought to die. He has spoken against God. He 
says that he is the Son of God. 

Pilate then was exceedingly afraid: he asked 
Jesus, From whence then do you come ? Are you 
the Son of God? 

He might well think that there was something 
God-like in the prisoner before him. 

No man would have so meekly borne pain, and 
insult, and injury. He never defended himself 
from the evil speaking of his enemies, and his 
majestic calmness was in bright contrast to the 
haste, and hate, and violence of his enemies. 

To the question, Are you the Son of God? Jesus 
gave no repfy. . 

The worldly heathen Pilate could not understand 
in what sense he wished to be thought the Son of 
God, 



^3 A CHILD^S LIFE OF CHRIST 

Again Pilate wondered at his strange silence. 
Why do you not answer me? he asked. Do you 
not know that I have power to crucify you, or power 
to set you free ? 

You could have no power to take my life, replied 
Jesus, did not God will, for his own wise purpose, 
that I should die. 

When Pilate heard this, he tried more earnestly 
to save him, but the Jews cried out, If you let this 
man go, you are not true to the Emperor Caesar; for 
whoever makes himself a king, as Jesus does, is an 
enemy to Caesar. 

Then Pilate sat down in the judgment seat in 
the outer paved court, but before he gave him up 
to the soldiers, he tried once more to save him. 

He said, Look on your king. 

They cried with fearful madness, Away with him, 
away with him ! crucify him, crucify him ! 

For the last time, Pilate said, Shall I crucify 
your king? 

They said, We have no king but Caesar. 

There was not a man there who did not hate the 
very name of the emperor, yet they cried out for 
him, because they hated the Saviour more. Pilate 
saw it was useless to speak to them again, so he 
said to the soldiers, Take Jesus away, and crucify 
him. 

Judas, who betrayed Christ, heard Pilate sentence 
Jesus to death; he saw him led away by the Roman 
soldiers to be crucified. 

He felt very miserable and unhappy, to think 
that he had told the Chief Priests where to find 
Jesus. Perhaps he thought that Jesus would be 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST T y^ 

sure to get away from his enemies, as he knew that 
he could do anything; but now, when he saw him 
led away to death, he could bear it no longer. 

He went to the Chief Priests and Elders, and 
said, I have brought back the thirty silver pieces; 
I cannot keep this money, for it is the price of the 
life of an innocent man. 

Pilate, the judge, had said that Christ was inno- 
cent; now the man who betrayed him said the 
same. 

The Chief Priests ought to have sent after Jesus 
at once to stop his death, and say that a mistake 
had been made. 

But these wicked men, when they heard what 
Judas said, only replied, It is nothing to us if he 
is innocent, we only care to have him killed. 

Then Judas threw down the money on the floor; 
he had gained it in such a wicked way that he 
dared not keep it. 

The Chief Priests took up the money, and said, 
We must not use it for God's temple-service, 
because it is the price given for a man's life; we 
will buy some ground with it, to make a burying- 
place for strangers. So they bought a field with 
the money. 

Judas went away as soon as he had thrown down 
the money. He felt so full of misery, that he went 
and hung himself. 

I suppose he tied a rope round his neck, and then 
fastened the other end of the rope to a tree. 

Afterwards the rope broke, and Judas fell down 
and his body burst. 

Such was the sad end of a covetous man. 



I7 4 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

The soul of Judas went to its own place, to that 
place in the unseen world for which his life here 
would make him most fit. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE CRUCIFIXION AND DEATH OF JESUS. 

AFTER Pilate had passed sentence on Jesus, the 
soldiers took off the clothes in which they had 
dressed him up, and put his own on him again. 

They led him out of Jerusalem to a little hill 
close by, called Calvary. It was the place where 
evil-doers were put to death. 

They laid upon Jesus the cross to which they 
were going to nail him, but after he had carried it a 
little way, he could bear it no longer. The cross 
was heavy, and he was weak and faint. 

You know that, the evening before, he had gone 
through that dreadful agony in the garden. Since 
then, his disciples had run away from him, Peter 
had denied him, the Jewish council had vexed him 
with questions, Pilate and Herod had tried him, their 
servants had mocked him, and the soldiers had cut 
his back with their heavy scourges, and crowned 
his head with thorns. He had had no sleep all 
night long; no wonder that his strength was gone. 

The very soldiers now took pity on him, when 
they saw how weary he was, and they made a man 
named Simon carry his cross for him. 




JESUS CARRIES HIS CROSS 



175 



Ij6 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

As they walked along, a great many people went 
with them, to see the crucifixion. 

Some of them were very sorry for Jesus; there 
were women there who cried bitterly to see the kind 
Saviour thus cruelly used. 

In all his suffering, Jesus ever had an ear for the 
sorrow of others. As he heard their cries, he 
turned round and said most kindly, Do not cry 
for me, cry for yourselves and for your children. 
Jesus knew that very soon God would send a heavy 
woe to the Jewish nation, because of their sins, es- 
pecially that sin of putting him to death. 

At last they come to Calvary. Two thieves are 
there, to be crucified at the same time as Jesus — one 
on his right hand, and one on his left. 

The soldiers offer Jesus wine, mixed with some- 
thing to take away his senses, so that he may not 
feel the pain of dying. Jesus is burning with fever- 
ish thirst, so he takes the offered wine, but he will 
not drink it when he finds what is mixed with it. 
He wishes to know all that happens while he is 
dying; he will not shrink from any of the pain. 

The soldiers take off nearly all his clothes, and 
lift him up to the cross. They tie him to it first, 
and they put nails into his tender hands and feet, 
and hammer them into the wood of the cross. 

The sight of all this agony does not move his 
enemies to pity; but even now, when Pilate has 
granted their wish, they cannot leave off mocking 
him. 

See ! the lips of Jesus move in prayer. What 
does he say? Father, punish my enemies for their 
cruelty and wickedness? No ! that is not what he 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST T yy 

says. The words are very wonderful, — he prays, 
Father, forgive them ; they know not what they do. 

Oh, what a loving heart must Jesus have had, 
thus at such, a time to pray for these wicked men. 

Is not this returning good for evil ? 

The soldiers meanwhile divide his clothes among 
themselves; then they sit down and watch the cross, 
the multitude standing around. 

Pilate had written on a piece of parchment, which 
was afterwards nailed on the cross, the reason why 
Jesus was put to death; namely, because he said he 
was a king. He wrote it in three languages, 
Hebrew, the tongue of the Jews; Greek, the tongue 
of the people who lived in Greece; and Latin, the 
tongue of the Romans. This was done that every 
one might be able to read it in his own speech. 
The words Pilate wrote were these, — This is Jesus 
the King of the Jews. The Chief Priests did not 
like this; they said to Pilate, Write, not the King of 
the Jews, but that he said, I am the King of the 
Jews. But Pilate said, I will not alter what I have 
written. 

The people who read this parchment, as it there 
hangs nailed over the head of the Saviour, laugh at 
the would-be-king. Come down from the cross, 
they cry, if you are a king. You who cured the 
blind, you who healed the sick, you who raised the 
dead, you who saved others, save yourself now ! 
Ah, you cannot ! If you are the Son of God, God 
will not leave you to die on the cross. Come down, 
and we will believe on you. 

Suppose Jesus had come down, suppose Jesus had 
saved himself — why, then he could not have saved 



i 7 8 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



the world. He chose to die that sinners might 
live. 

On each side of Jesus is a cross; a thief is nailed 
on each. One of them is grown so hardened in 
wicked ways that he mocks at the Holy One beside 
him. Yes, even in dying he cannot leave of! scoff- 
ing. 

But the other one is sorry. He reproves the 
mocker, and says, Yon and I hang on this cross as a 
punishment for our evil doings; we deserve to die, 
but Jesus has done nothing amiss. Then he turns 
to Jesus, and says, Lord, remember me, when thou 
comest into thy kingdom. 

The poor thief believed that Jesus was a Heavenly 
king, though he was crucified like a sinner. 

Jesus attends at once to his prayer, and promises 
him bliss. He says, To-day you shall be with me 
in Heaven. 

At the foot of Christ's cross three women stand, 
watching with aching hearts the dying Saviour. 

One of them is Mary, the mother of Jesus. 

Things that she had treasured up in her heart 
ever since he was a baby she thinks of now. She 
thinks of the angel's words, Hail, Mary, you are 
more blessed than any woman, when he came to tell 
her that God would send her a baby who would be 
the Son of God. 

She remembers how the shepherds came to him 
when he lay in the manger, and how they had 
heard the angels sing his cradle song. She thinks 
of the wise men who came a long, long journey 
to worship the Infant King. She thinks of his 
obedient, sinless boyhood, his constant love to her. 



H 

X 
H 

n 

e: 
n 

B 

o 




180 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

She thinks of him when he was grown up, how 
disease fled at his touch, how raging seas were calm 
at his word, how devils owned his power, how the 
grave gave up its dead at his command. These 
thoughts pierced her heart like swords. There he 
hangs dying a shameful death. Oh, why? 

Mary understood the reason much better soon 
afterwards, but her mother's heart is nearly break- 
ing now. 

The sight of her grief pains Jesus too. He sees 
close by him John, his best loved disciple; so he 
says to his mother, Behold your son; and to John, 
Behold your mother. 

John knew what Jesus meant, and from that time 
he took Mary home with him, to live with him as 
his own mother. How full of love and thought for 
others was Jesus to the very last ! 

What is this strange darkness, coming on at mid- 
day, as if night were near? Why does the sun hide 
his light, as if he would not shine upon such an 
awful deed as the crucifixion of the Son of God ? 

The darkness deepens as the end draws near; for 
three hours the whole land is covered with gloom. 

One loud cry of agony now bursts from the lips 
of the sufferer, My God, my God, why hast thou 
forsaken me ? 

All the meaning of those awful words we cannot 
tell. Jesus felt that bitter sorrow, that we might 
never know it. 

Burning with thirst, the Saviour asks for a cooling 
drink. The soldiers offer him some of their own 
wine. They fill a sponge with it and put it to his 
lips. Jesus drinks it, and speaks for the last time. 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST jgj 

The words are no words of sorrow now, but of 
triumph. It is finished. Yes ! the work he came 
down from Heaven to do is all done now. 

He bows his head, he dies ! 

Now the earth quakes, the rocks are rent, the veil 
in the Jewish temple, before the Holy of Holies, is 
rent asunder; — old things are passed away. 

It was noon when Jesus was nailed to the cross — 
it was three o'clock in the afternoon when he died — 
the very hour when the Jews began to kill -the 
passover lamb. Behold the Lamb of God ! 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE BURIAL OF JESUS — THE WOMEN FIND THE 
TOMB EMPTY — TWO ANGELS APPEAR TO THEM 
AND TELL THEM HE IS RISEN — APPEARS TO MARY 
MAGDALENE. 

IT was about three o'clock on Friday afternoon 
when Jesus died. The Jewish Sabbath began 
at sunset that evening. , 
The Jews said, It is against our law to have any 
one hanging, either dead or dying, on the cross on a 
Sabbath-day; we must bury the bodies of Jesus and 
of the thieves before night. 

They went to Pilate, and said, Will you bid your 
soldiers break the legs of those evil-doers so as to 
kill them quite, that we may be able to bury them 
before our Sabbath begins ? 

Then Pilate told his soldiers to do as the people 



j82 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

§ 
wished. The)' went to one thief; he was not dead, 
so they broke his legs, and that killed him; then 
they went to the other thief, and broke his legs, so 
that he died. They then went to Jesus, but he was 
dead already, so they did not break his legs. 

Then came true the old prophecy (Exodus xii. 46; 
Ps. xxxiv. 20), A bone of him shall not be broken. 
The Jews never broke a bone of their passover lamb, 
which, as I have before told you, was a type of 
Christ. This lamb was a whole sacrifice offered up 
to God. 

But though they did not break the Saviour's legs, 
yet a soldier, to make quite sure that he was dead, 
pierced his side, and there came out of the hole made 
by the spear blood and water. 

You remember how the evening before, when 
Jesus sat at supper with his disciples, that he poured 
out some wine and said, Drink this, to remind you 
of my blood which will be shed for your sins. 

The blood is shed now. 

The bodies of the thieves were taken down from 
their crosses, and buried in a place set apart for evil- 
doers. But the body of Jesus was not buried there. 
When he was alive, he gave his life for the sin of 
the world; when he died, he died as a sinner, for 
sinners. His sacrifice is offered, God has accepted 
it now. He will no more be treated as an evil-doer. 

Seven hundred years before, the prophet Isaiah 
(liii. 8, 9) said, that when the Saviour came, he 
would be put to death with evil-doers, and be counted 
one of them, but that his grave would be that of a 
rich man's. How this old prophecy came true I 
will tell you. 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST jg^ 

In the Jewish council there were one or two good 
men who loved Jesus, and would not consent to 
what the others did, when they wished to put him 
to death. One of these was named Joseph of Arima- 
thea, and another Nicodemus, who once came to 
talk to Jesus by night. 

Joseph was very rich, as well as good and just. 
He went to Pilate and said, Will you give me the 
body of Jesus, so that I may bury it ? 

Pilate said, I should not think that he is dead yet, 
for people do not generally die so quickly as that 
when they are crucified, but I will call the captain 
of the soldiers and ask him. 

Then Pilate asked, Is it true that Jesus of Naza- 
reth is dead? 

Yes, he is quite dead, the captain replied. 

Then you may have the body, said Pilate to 
Joseph. 

So Joseph and his servants took down the body of 
Jesus from the cross very carefully. They washed 
off all the blood-stains from his brow, his side, his 
hands, and his feet. Then Nicodemus came, with 
a large quantity of costly spices, which smelt very 
sweetly, to cover over the body of Jesus, so as to 
prevent its turning bad. Then they wrapped it 
round with clean fine linen cloths, and carried it to 
Joseph's tomb. 

This tomb was in a garden. It was quite new; 
no one had been buried in it before. It was cut out 
of a rock. When they had laid the body of Jesus 
in the tomb, they rolled a very large stone to the 
opening, so that no one could get in. 

Some women, who were friends of Jesus, had 



j34 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

watched him when he hung upon the cross; now 
they watched where his body was laid. They said 
to one another, As soon as the Sabbath is over, we 
will come to the grave, and rub the body of Jesus 
with sweet ointment. Then they went home, to get 
the things ready to make it. 

The enemies of Jesus did not like that he should 
be buried in such a sweet quiet place, all by himself. 
They went to Pilate early the next morning, and 
said, Sir, that deceiver, Jesus, said when he was 
alive, After three days I shall live again. Will you 
let us have some soldiers to guard the tomb for three 
days, for perhaps his disciples will come by night 
and steal away the body, and then say, He has risen 
from the dead. That deceit will be the worst of all. 

Pilate said, You may have a guard of soldiers, so 
as to make all as safe as you can. 

So they went away, and set some Roman soldiers 
to watch the grave. They put the seal of the 
Roman governor on the stone at the mouth of the 
grave. No one could now move it away without 
breaking the seal. 

If the disciples had come to the guard and said, 
Let us have the body of Jesus, they would have re- 
plied, No, you will break the seal if you move the 
stone, and the governor would know it, and we 
should be punished. 

On Friday evening Jesus was laid in the quiet 
grave; all Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, he lay there. 
The place was guarded well, by seal, by stone, by 
soldiers; and bright angels watched within the 
tomb at the Saviour's head and feet. 

As they looked at that pale and silent face, they 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST ^5 

could see in it no sign of pain. All suffering from 
men, and for men, was past forever. The scourged 
back, the wounded brow, the torn hands and feet, 
the pierced side, do not hurt him now. 

He rests from this labor of redeeming men, as 
God rested from creating on the first Sabbath-day, 
thousands of years ago, 

The Sabbath that Jesus lay in the grave was no 
rest-day for the broken-hearted disciples. They 
were filled with grief to think that their dear Master 
was dead. They had lived with him long, and 
loved him much. They could hardly believe that 
One whom they had seen work such wonders, and 
even make dead men live, should at last have to 
die himself. All their hopes are gone now that the 
Master is dead. There is no one to teach them now. 

Soon, however, their sorrow will be turned into 
joy. The dark night is passing away, and before 
the dawn of the morning of the first day of the 
week, Jesus will have left his grave. 

Jesus lay in the tomb from Friday evening until 
Sunday morning. Just before the break of day, 
there was a great earthquake. An angel of God 
came down from Heaven to the tomb of the Sav- 
iour. He broke the seal, he rolled away the stone 
from the opening of the grave and sat upon it. 
His face was bright as the lightning, his robes were 
pure and white like snow. The soldiers dared not 
look at him, they shook with fright: they could no 
more move to hinder the angel than if they were all 
dead men. 

Jesus left the tomb — he was alive again — even as 
he said he should be. 



r 86 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

His enemies could not keep him in the grave, 
when he chose to take his life again. In vain had 
they sent a guard of brave soldiers to watch the tomb; 
they were weak as dead men. In vain had they 
sealed the great stone that lay before the grave; they 
could not hinder God's angel from rolling it away. 

The soldiers went to the Chief Priests, and told 
them what had happened. They told the Jewish 
elders, and all of them said, Do not tell any one 
what you have told us; here is a large sum of 
money for you to keep quiet and hush up the story. 
If any one should ask questions, say the disciples 
came in the night, and stole away the body when 
we were asleep. The soldiers did as they were bid; 
they took the money and told the lie. 

As soon as ever the sun rose, the women, who 
had been getting ready the sweet ointment to rub 
the body of Jesus, came with it to the grave. 

As they walked along they said, Who shall we 
get to move away the great stone that is rolled 
before the grave ? 

They did not know that the enemies of Jesus had 
sent some soldiers to hinder any one from moving 
away the stone. The soldiers, however, were gone 
away. 

At last the women came to the grave, but the 
great stone was rolled away ! 

Then they went into the grave, but they did not 
see the body of Jesus. Somebody has stolen him 
away, they exclaimed with anxiety. 

Then Mary of Magdala, who was oiie of the 
women, ran away from the grave to tell Peter and 
John. She said to them, They have taken away 



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!88 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

the Lord out of the grave, and we know not where 
they have laid him. 

While Mary was gone, the other women stood 
wondering at the empty grave. 

As they stood there, two bright angels in shining 
robes came to their side. 

The women, afraid, bowed down before them. 

One of the angels said, Do not fear; I know you 
are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not 
here, he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place 
where the Lord lay. Do you not remember, when 
he was teaching you in Galilee, how he said, that 
he must be given up into the hands of wicked men, 
who would crucify him, but that the third day he 
should rise again ? 

Then, when the angels reminded them, the 
women remembered these words of Jesus. 

Now, go quickly, said the angels, and tell the 
disciples that the Lord has risen. 

Then the women, with fear and joy, went as fast 
as they could from the grave, to tell the disciples 
what they had seen and heard. 

As they went along they met Jesus himself. He 
spoke to them first, and then they worshipped him. 
They knelt at his feet and held him fast, in their 
joy at once more seeing their Lord. 

Jesus said, Go, tell my brethren that they shall 
see me soon, for I am risen from the dead. 

They then found the disciples, and told them the 
good news that Christ was risen. The news seemed 
to the disciples too good to be true. They said, It 
is like an idle tale; we cannot believe you, you 
must be mistaken. 



IO/ o A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

Now, while the women had gone to tell the rest 
of the disciples, Peter and John, who, I suppose, 
lived together in another part of Jerusalem from 
where the rest lodged, went with Mary of Magdala 
to see the grave. 

John ran the fastest, and he reached the grave 
first. He did not go into the grave; he only looked 
in, and saw nothing but the linen clothes. Then 
Peter came up, and he went right into the grave. 
He saw no body, only the clothes neatly folded up. 
Then John went into the grave too; he thought, if 
any one had taken away the dead body, they would 
have carried it away in the grave-clothes; but here 
they were, not lying on the ground as if they had 
fallen off, but neatly folded as if they had been 
taken off. He thought of what Jesus had said 
about his rising again, and he began to believe it 
was true. 

Peter and John now went back to their own home, 
but Mary stayed by the empty grave, weeping. As 
she wept, she stooped down to look again into the 
tomb, and she saw two angels, one sitting at the 
head, the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus 
had lain. 

They kindly asked her, Woman, why do you 
weep? 

She answered, They have taken away my Lord, 
and I do not know where they have laid him. 

He, who always comforted the mourner, was near 
her now, but she knew it not. 

She turned round, when a man said to her, 
Woman, why do you weep? What are you looking 
for? 




HE IS RISEN 



l 9 I 



192 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



She thought he was the gardener, and said, Sir, 
if you have taken him out of the tomb, tell me 
where you have laid him, and I will take him 
away. 

The man said, Mary ! That one word was 
enough : she knew that tone so well. She turned 
to him, and said, Master ! Now her sorrow was 
turned into ]oy. 

He said, You must not think that you can keep 
me on earth, for I shall soon go to Heaven, to be 
with my Father and your Father, with my God and 
your God. Go and tell my brethren this. 

Jesus had before told the other women to say to 
the disciples that he had risen from the dead; and, 
lest they should think that he had returned to stay 
with them on earth always, he told Mary to say 
that he should soon leave them on earth to go up 
into Heaven. 

Mary then went to the disciples with the message 
of Jesus, but they said, We cannot think what you 
say is true; you must be mistaken. 



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I9 4 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



CHAPTER XX 

JESUS APPEARS TO TWO DISCIPLES ON THEIR 
WALK TO EMMAUS, AND TO THE OTHER DISCI- 
PLES — DOUBTING. THOMAS — BLESSES THE DISCI- 
PLES AND TELLS THEM TO PREACH THE GOSPEL. 

ON the afternoon of the day that Jesus left the 
grave, there were two men walking to the 
village of Emmaus, which was a short dis- 
tance from Jerusalem. These men were the 
disciples of Jesus, but were not of the number of 
the twelve apostles. 

As they walked along, they talked of all the 
strange things that had happened in Jerusalem 
during the last few days. 

While they were talking, a stranger came up to 
them and said, May I know what it is that you 
are talking about so earnestly ? You seem to be very 
sad. 

They said, We are talking about Jesus. Surely, 
if you are only a stranger here, and have lodged in 
Jerusalem but one night, you must have heard 
something of him, for every one is talking about 
him. 

Tell me something about him, said the strange 
man. 

Then one of them began, Jesus of Nazareth was 
a wonderful prophet, and worked many miracles. 
No one ever spoke as he did, and his teachings were 
not like those of the Scribes and Pharisees. Many 
people believed in him, but the chief priests and 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST jgr 

our rulers hated him. They condemned him to 
death, and last Friday he was crucified. 

We are very sad at this, because we hoped that he 
was the promised Saviour, but now we are afraid 
that he is not. 

It is three days ago since he was put to death. 
Some women whom we know went to his grave this 
morning, and said that they could not find his 
body. They told us, too, that they had seen two 
angels, who said that he was alive ! Peter and John, 
two of his disciples, went to the grave too, and they 
found the grave empty as the women had said, but 
they did not see Jesus. All these things puzzle us 
very much; we do not know what to believe. 

The stranger said, Think over what your old 
prophets have written, hundreds of years ago, about 
Christ. Did they tell you that he would come as a 
great king ? No, they said, He would be meek and 
lowly, that men would not own him, but would 
think meanly of him. They said, He would be a 
man of sorrows, and know well what it was to 
grieve. 

They told you, too, that Christ must suffer and 
die, for he came to be the Saviour, not of the Jews 
alone, but of all the world. He was to save it by 
dying for it. 

Do you not remember that it is written, He was 
wounded for our sins, he was bruised for our iniqui- 
ties; by his stripes we are healed, and the Lord 
hath laid on him the punishment of us all. 

Many other things did the stranger say. He told 
them what Moses had written of Christ, fourteen 
hundred years before; what David had said in the 



I9 6 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

Psalms of him, and how the prophets had told long 
beforehand, of those things which had just happened 
at Jerusalem. 

See how true all this is of Jesus of Nazareth, and 
still believe in him as the promised Christ. Do not 
be cast down because he was crucified, for it was 
necessary that he should suffer all these things, to 
save the world, before he entered into glory. 

The two friends listened very earnestly to the 
stranger, and they began to understand the old 
sacred writings in a new way. 

The road to Emmaus did not seem long to them, 
they were so interested in his talk. At last they 
reached the village, and the stranger seemed as if 
he were going farther on. 

Oh, do not leave us, they said; stay with us, for 
the day is nearly gone. 

They wanted to hear more of his gracious words, 
for they brought hope and comfort to their sorrow- 
ing hearts. 

When they sat down to take some food, the 
stranger took up a piece of bread. He asked a 
blessing, and then gave the bread to the two men. 
All at once, by this well-remembered act, they 
knew the Lord. He was a stranger to them no 
longer, for often had he before thus given them 
food. It is the Lord, they cried. 

They looked to where he sat, but the seat was 
empty, the Lord was gone from their sight ! 

They said to one another, Did not his words make 
our hearts very warm and glad, while he explained 
the Scriptures to us as we walked along the road ? 
It is true that the Lord has risen from the dead. 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 19 y 

This news was too good to keep to themselves; 
they longed to make others as glad as Jesus had 
made them. 

Though the day was nearly gone, they went back 
to Jerusalem that very hour, to tell the disciples 
that they had seen the Lord. They found them in 
a room, with the door locked, lest their enemies 
should come in and interrupt them. All the eleven 
were there, except Thomas. As soon as they had 
let the two friends into the room, they said to them, 
Jesus has risen from the dead; some women have 
seen him, and so has Peter. (How kind of Jesus to 
go to Peter before he went to any of the other 
apostles ! Perhaps he said, I forgive you, Peter, 
for denying me.) 

Then the two friends said, We have seen Jesus 
too; and they told them how sweetly he had talked 
to them; but that they thought he was a stranger, 
until he gave them the bread. 

While they were talking together, Jesus stood 
before them, and said, Peace be unto you. They 
were all very much frightened, for how could he 
get into the room — the door was locked? They 
thought it was the spirit, not the body, of Jesus 
that they saw. Jesus had pity on their fears; so to 
quiet them, he said, Come and touch me, look at 
my hands and my feet, for it is I myself. You can- 
not see a spirit, as you can see me ! Then the dis- 
ciples looked at his hands and his feet, and saw the 
mark where the nails had been. Still they could 
hardly believe for joy and wonder. 

Then Jesus said, Have you anything here that 
you can give me to eat ? 



Ig8 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

They gave him some broiled fish and some honey- 
comb, and Jesus ate them. 

So they believed that it was indeed the body of 
Jesus that was raised from the dead, and not his 
spirit, that they saw. Then Jesus told them why 
he had died, and he said, that when he was gone 
back to Heaven, they must go and teach everybody 
what he had taught them. 

Before Jesus went back to his Father in Heaven, 
he showed himself several times to his disciples. 

He did this for one reason, that they might be quite 
sure that his body was alive again, not to die any 
more. We now know that, as Christ has risen from 
the dead, so our bodies will one day rise from the 
grave too. 

I told you that Jesus showed himself to the 
apostles on the evening of the very day that he 
rose from the dead. All were in the room, except- 
ing Thomas. The disciples told Thomas afterwards 
that they had seen the Lord. 

Thomas said, No, you must have fancied that you 
saw him. Until I put my finger into the holes 
made by the nails in his hands, and until I can put 
my hand into the spear-hole in his side, I will not 
believe that he is risen from the dead. 

This was very wrong of Thomas. He should 
have believed the words of his fellow disciples; and, 
above all, he should have remembered what Jesus 
himself had said, before he died, about his rising 
again. 

Just a week after the Saviour had met the disciples, 
they were all together again in a room, with the 
door locked. Thomas was there too. Soon they 



2 oo A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

saw Jesus standing among them, and he said, Peace 
be with you. 

Then he called Thomas to come to him. 

Thomas came close to Jesus. 

Jesus said to him, Look at my hands; do you see 
the marks of the nails? Put your finger in them. 
Now look at my side, and see the hole made by the 
spear. Put your hand in it. 

Thomas was very much ashamed of himself for 
having said what he did. He knew that Jesus must 
have heard him say it, and that Jesus must be the 
Son of God, so as to be able to see and hear every- 
thing. He was quite sure now that Jesus was alive 
again, and he cried out, My Lord and my God ! 

Jesus said to him, You believe, because you have 
seen me; but blessed are those who believe even 
though they do not see. 

We cannot see Jesus with the eyes of our body; 
but we can believe that he is God's Son and our 
Saviour, though we cannot see. This is faith in 
Jesus. 

Jesus told his disciples to leave Jerusalem, and go 
into Galilee; for he would meet them there. 

Then they went back to their old homes by the Sea 
of Galilee, and began to catch fish as they used to do. 

One night Peter said, I am going out fishing; six 
other disciples said, We will go with you. So they 
all got into a boat, and went out to sea. 

All night they threw their nets into the still 
water, but they did not catch a single fish. 

When the morning came, they saw some one 
standing on the shore, but they could not tell who 
it was. 



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A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



He called to them, Children, have you anything 
to eat ? No, they answered. 

The man said to them, Put down your net on the 
right side of the ship, you will find some fish there. 

They did so, and now the net was so full that they 
could hardly drag it along. 

John then said to the other disciples, It is the 
Lord! 

Peter could not wait till the boat came to land, 
but he jumped into the water, and swam to Jesus. 

Jesus knew that they were tired and hungry with 
working all night, so with thoughtful love he had 
some food ready for them. They saw, when they 
came to land, a coal fire, some fish ready cooked, 
and some bread. 

Jesus said, Bring here the fish that you have 
caught. Then Peter went to the boat, and drew 
the net out of it. How many fishes do you think 
there were in it? A hundred and fifty-three; but for 
all that there were so many, the net did not break. 

Now, said Jesus, come and take some food. He 
gave them all some bread and fish, and helped them 
just as he used to do. 

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to 
Peter, Do you love me, Peter, more than the rest of 
my disciples? 

He said, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you 
dearly. Peter was humble now; he did not say now 
that he loved Jesus more than the others. 

Jesus said to him, Feed my lambs. 

Again Jesus asked, Peter, do you love me ? 

Again Peter answered, Yes, Lord, you know that 
I love you dearly. 



A CHILD >S LIFE OF CHRIST 2 0^ 

Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep. 

For the third time Jesus said to Peter, Do you 
love me dearly ? 

Peter was very grieved that Jesus should ask him 
three times if he loved him: it seemed as if he did 
not believe him. So he said, very sorrowfully, Lord, 
you know all things, you know that I love you. 

Jesus said, Feed my sheep. 

What did Jesus mean by telling Peter to feed his 
lambs and sheep ? He meant that Peter was to show 
his love by his actions, and that he was to teach 
grown-up people and children about him, and tell 
them of his great love in dying for them. 

Can you think why Jesus asked Peter three times 
over if he loved him? How many times did Peter 
say that he did not know Jesus ? Three times ? Yes. 
So Jesus wanted to hear Peter say that he loved him, 
for every time that he had said he did not know him. 

How sorry Peter must have felt, how ashamed 
and humbled ! The love of Jesus in forgiving him 
had melted away his proud and boastful spirit. 

Then Jesus told Peter that he knew that he loved 
him, and one day he should indeed lay down his 
life for his Master's sake. 

He said, Some wicked men will crucify you, 
because of your love to me. You will never again 
be afraid to tell people that you know and love me. 
And Peter never was. 

After this Peter was one of the first to speak 
everywhere the truth about Jesus. Christ crucified 
for man's sin, Christ risen and seated at God's right 
hand in Heaven, was the good news he preached 
without fear, even to the enemies of Jesus, 



2 o4 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

Jesus said to the apostles, I want you, aud all 
people who love me, to come and meet me on a 
mountain in Galilee. I will tell you when. So 
they all met together at the time Jesus had told 
them to do so. There were more than five hundred 
of them. Jesus came to these disciples and said, 
You will soon see me no more, but I shall always be 
near you, to help and comfort you. 

Go everywhere, and teach every one the things 
that I have taught you. First of all, go to the 
people of Jerusalem. Tell them that I forgive them 
for putting me to death; that I died to save them. 

When Jesus had talked some time with them, he 
left them. He did not live with his disciples as he 
used to do before he died. He only came to them 
sometimes. 



CHAPTER XXI 

THE ASCENSION INTO HEAVEN — THE DESCENT OF 
THE HOLY GHOST. 

THE apostles had now gone back to Jerusalem, 
and they saw Jesus there. 

It was forty days since he rose from the 
dead, when he led them out as far as Bethany, 
which was a village on the eastern slope of the 
Mount of Olives. 

Jesus gave his parting words to his disciples, and 
put his hands on them aud blessed them. As he 



20 6 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

did so, a cloud came between him and them, and in 
that cloud Jesus was carried up into heaven. So 
they saw him no more. 

They could not help looking up into the sky long 
after he was goue from their sight. 

As they gazed, two angels stood by their side, 
and said, Why do you stand looking up into 
Heaven ? Jesus has gone away from you now, but 
one day he will come back again. 

Then the disciples returned to Jerusalem. 

They were not sad now, as they had been when he 
died. No: they knew now why he had died; they 
knew that he had risen from the dead; they knew 
that he had gone back to his Father and their 
Father, and that he was gone to get a home ready 
for them in Heaven, so that they might live with 
him there always. 

What did the angels mean by saying that Jesus 
would come again from Heaven in a cloud ? 

They meant that one day he will come from 
Heaven to judge the world. Everyone will see him 
then. At his voice every grave will open, and 
every dead body will live again. 

Our Lord had told the apostles that though he was 
going to Heaven, he would send them another 
Comforter, who would be with them for ever, and 
in whom he himself should be present with them — 
even God the Holy Ghost, who is one with God the 
Father and God the Son. 

Ten days after he had ascended up to Heaven, on 
the great day of the feast of weeks (or, as we call 
it, Whitsunday), as the disciples were together in 
one place at Jerusalem, they heard a sound like the 



2o8 A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 

noise of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all 
the house; and there came flames like tongues 
divided in the midst, and sat on the head of each 
disciple — not burning, but shining. And wonder- 
ful knowledge came to all of them — they under- 
stood all they could not understand before; and 
they could speak all sorts of different languages, 
without ever having learnt them. These wonders 
were to show them that God the Holy Ghost had 
come down from Heaven to be with them, and to 
dwell in them, and help them, and make them 
strong for ever and ever. 

The Lord God the Holy Ghost goes on coming 
and being with us still. He does not show us when 
he comes now, because it is more blessed to believe 
than to see; but we know he does come to each of us 
when we are baptized, to help us and make us good. 

The reason he made the apostles able to speak all 
those languages, was that they were to go and 
teach all the nations round the Gospel — that is to 
say, the good news that Christ was come, and had 
died for the sins of every one, and risen again. 
They did go and teach; and all who chose to be- 
lieve and belong to Christ's kingdom were baptized. 
Then each of us receives the Presence of the Holy 
Ghost, to help us to be good, and to keep God's 
holy law, and the ten commandments, that he 
gave on Mount Sinai. More and more of that good 
help of the Holy Spirit is given to every one who 
comes, as our Lord bade, to take and eat and drink 
of the bread and wine, by which we partake of the 
Body and Blood of Christ; and he gives all that we 
ask to us if we pray to him. For we belong to 



2IO 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 



those nations that the apostles were commanded to 
teach and baptize, and bring into the fold; and we 
belong to Jesus Christ just as much as his own first 
disciples did. We are called Christians, after his 
name; and all the time we live here, he takes care 
of us; and if we serve him, he takes our souls to be 
with him in Paradise, when death parts them from 
our bodies. 

The Lord Jesus Christ is coming again. We do 
not know when it will be; but, some time or other, 
he will send his angel to blow a trumpet; and all 
that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and 
their souls will come back to their bodies; and we 
shall all be alive again; and if we have been good 
and holy, we shall be caught up to meet the Lord 
Jesus in the air. For then he will come, with all 
his holy angels, and will sit on a great white throne; 
and all that have ever lived will be called before 
him, and judged for all the things they have done, 
and the words they have said. And then those that 
have gone on doing wrong, and never being sorry, 
and never caring for the Lord Jesus, but have made 
Satan their master, will be given to Satan, to be in 
misery in hell-fire for ever. 

But those who have tried to do their best, and 
held fast to our Lord Jesus, and prayed him to wash 
them clean in his blood, will be taken home for his 
sake- And they will have the happiest and most 
blessed home that ever can be in Heaven. There 
will be all brightness, and no more pain, nor grief, 
nor sorrow; and the Lord shall wipe off all tears 
from all eyes; and there shall be gladness and joy 
for ever and ever. 



A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST 211 

The old earth will be burnt up; but there will be 
new heavens, and a new earth, all beautiful, with 
nothing that will hurt or spoil or fade, but all lovely 
and peaceful. 

And then there will be the great joy of singing 
the praise of God, who made us, and saved us, and 
helps us to be good, for ever and ever. 

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which 
was, and is, and is to come ! Alleluia ! 



THE END 



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